A Forgotten Calm
by Garfield's Pooky
Summary: ...this is a story of a forgotten Calm brought by a summoner that Yevon couldn’t acknowledge, one born of Al Bhed blood, the story of how a Calm came to be in a time of conspired rebellion against the Yevon order. Full summary inside.
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X. 

A/N: I haven't written a fic in yeeears, so I don't know if my writing has gotten any better. I'd love any constructive criticism regarding typos or errors of any sort, or if you just have any advice for me on improving my writing! Anyway, so the bulk of this story takes place in a time about 200 years before Yuna's with an original cast. I know those stories aren't really that popular, but please give it a chance. I hoped it might be interesting to write on a different summoner's journey. So, please enjoy, and definitely don't forget to revieeeww!

Btw, this chapter is really just an introduction, so if you want to just go straight to the actual story, skipping this chapter won't really affect the plot in any way. It's only this chapter that will really take place during present-day Spira.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: Yevon dictated the life and fate of its believers throughout Spira. Yevon gave birth to summoners, and it was only a summoner who had the power to defeat Sin, then a celebrated Calm always followed. Yevon only knew five great summoners who accomplished such a feat, but what if there had been others? The people merely knew what Yevon told them, right? Well, this is a story of a forgotten Calm brought by a summoner that Yevon couldn't acknowledge, one born of Al Bhed blood--the story of how a Calm came to be in a time of conspired rebellion against the Yevon order.

**A Forgotten Calm**

Introduction

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, do you think this sphere's really what it looks like?" a woman asked, picking up the blue object. She turned it on to see one more time.

Although it was a fairly aged sphere, it definitely wasn't the oldest one found. The image was fuzzy at first, but cleared up with time. There really wasn't much to listen to; all it was, really, was a recording of some sort of march in the Calm Lands, recorded behind a large crowd of people. It wasn't a celebration, since no one seemed to be cheering, in fact, the solemn silence almost made this seem like a death march. The sphere appeared to be focused on a young woman clad in a beautiful white dress. Following by her were what looked like escorts or guards, and judging by their protective garments, they were definitely Crusaders. Nothing in the sphere would have been regarded as too important if it weren't for a youthful voice crying in the background, "It's you! Lady High Summoner! Hey! Do you remember me?" From the surrounding crowds came running a little boy no older than perhaps 8 years, but the recording ended there.

"A sphere from 205 years ago," she said.

"I know, it's weird," another man commented. The desert wind picked up outside, blowing some loose sand into their tent. He sputtered and rubbed his dried eyes. "Man, how do people live out here? And what's taking so long for them to get here?"

"If you haven't noticed, the Al Bhed _do_ wear goggles," the woman replied.

"Shut up. Anyway, we did check Yevon's records, and obviously, there were only 4 High Summoners before Lady Yuna. Lord Gandof defeated Sin about 400 years ago and Lord Ohalland a little over 100 years after him."

"Then there was Lady Yocun, 180 years after that."

The two turned to the man entering the tent.

"Rammu! Hello, and please excuse my lateness. I'm Juma, nice to meet you," he greeted, taking his goggles off and putting his hand out to shake. "I take it you're the sphere researchers they told me about?"

"Yeah, I'm Milo," the man replied and shook his hand.

"Nell. Nice to meet you, too," the woman followed.

"So umm, we recently found this sphere in the Calm Lands," Milo explained and handed it to Juma, who took a brief moment to watch it.

"It was strange. We've figured out that it was recorded about 200 years ago. As you can see, that girl is referred to as a High Summoner, but she clearly isn't Lady Yocun," Nell explained.

"So," Milo added, "we did a bit of research in Bevelle. Came up with nothing."

"But, when we showed this sphere to a few other colleagues, someone recognized her from a different sphere, and told us that this girl was an Al Bhed."

"An Al Bhed summoner…kind of an oxymoron, don't you think?" Milo asked rhetorically. "Well, we did some more digging, and there is apparently a story about said summoner, a tale really."

Nell rolled her eyes at his exaggerated tone. "So, he told us there were some people in Guadosalam who knew a bit more about this story. We went there and asked around. Eventually we came across an old antique collector, who gave us this old journal belonging to a Guado from about the same time as that sphere. And…"

"It talks about our summoner," Milo concluded. "Thank you for listening quietly, Juma, but there's more! She also gave us a different sphere that belonged to the girl who wrote this journal. We watched it, and to our surprise, she apparently knew the explorer Riezel, who made a short appearance in the recording."

"And of course, any explorer or researcher today knows who the great Riezel was. She was close with the Al Bhed, so we were hoping to find any records she left behind at all that might be here at Bikanel," Nell explained.

Juma took a brief pause. "Well, yes we _had_ many of Riezel's journals and spheres…"

"Had…?" Milo asked.

"Home…did get blown up, and most of those records with it, but, the story of an Al Bhed summoner…that's a tale that we never thought Yevonites were ever familiar with."

"So, you know about it?" Milo's face lit up.

"Of course. You're pretty lucky to be talking to me right now; I know even more about it through my research of Riezel's exploration. She knew the summoner personally. In fact, come with me," Juma said.

The two Yevonite explorers looked at each other before they followed their Al Bhed guide out of the tent. The winds had died down a bit from earlier, so it wasn't as uncomfortable to tread through the yellow sand across the camp. Juma led them to a larger tent some meters away. Inside, he rummaged through a chest filled with spheres, picking and choosing each and checking their labels. Finally, after finding the correct one, he pulled the object out from the chest.

"This was Riezel's. Go ahead, watch it," he said, handing the sphere to the two.

Nell took it and turned it on. When the image appeared, it showed a clear setting along the Mi'ihen route, proving how unchanged Spira really had been though its dark years. The scene of the sea sunset shifted to the face of a young girl—wavy, shoulder-length blond hair, eyes of a bluish shade with the prominent spiraled pupils of an Al Bhed. She stared straight into the sphere looking slightly confused.

_"Is this working?"_

The girl spoke perfectly without any accent. She looked away at an unseen person.

"She's kinda cute," Milo said, grinning at the sphere. The other two stared at him.

"Ugh, have some respect, will you?" Nell scolded.

"Hey, all I said was that she's pretty. What, just 'cause you're a summoner, other people can't think you look nice? Besides, I don't think she's as pretty as Lady Yuna… Yeah, she's got a nice—"

His ramblings earned him a hard kick in the shin from Nell, who seemed to be more than comfortable with doing it. Juma was afraid to know how these two interacted when others weren't around.

"Back to the sphere, you dumbass," she ordered.

The view of the sphere shifted to another young woman.

"That's…!" Nell nearly cried out.

"Riezel, yeah," Juma cut in.

_"Gimme that."_

The sphere closed up on her eye and back out again.

_"It's fine, here."_

_"So, umm. I don't really know what to say."_

_"Well, for starters, talk a little about yourself or something. It's like a biography. Say whatever you want. I'll just go sit over there, and tell me when you're done."_

_"All right then. So… Well, my name is Zhara, and I, I guess…I'm a summoner—sort of, from Luca. I'm also an Al Bhed; I was raised by my surrogate uncle, Nikolas, who was a summoner himself, but he isn't here anymore… So right now I'm journeying for the sake of Spira. And…um, well here are the people who are traveling with me."_

The sphere shifted and focused on two Guados standing in the distance, talking.

_"That's Sedona and her younger brother Kiran; their mother is Lady Padma Guado. They're two good friends of mine. Sedona is a great doctor and Kiran is a skilled blitzball player, and he's the only one who can swim faster than me, haha."_

The two waved happily after noticing the sphere recording them, then it turned to an older man staring off into the sunset with his long, narrow sword thrust into the dirt beside him.

"That Sedona girl must've been the one who wrote the journal the lady gave us," Milo commented.

_"And that there is Sheridan. He used to be a Crusader and a friend of Uncle Nikolas, but something seemed to happen between them… I just met him again the other day at Mushroom Rock. It's great to see him again. He's hasn't changed one bit from last time I saw him, just a little aged."_

Once again the view moved on to another two, Riezel and a man speaking to her by the entrance of a nearby inn.

_"And of course… That's Riezel, the 'Great Explorer' Riezel speaking to umm, my…brother, Jeudiel. I just met him again, too…after over 10 years. He doesn't seem all too different from what I remember. It's sort of…weird, actually. But I'm grateful that he's really still alive; however, he told me about our parents… Hmm, it wasn't as sad as I expected it to be when I first heard. I didn't really cry, like I did when Uncle Nikolas…died."_

The view of the sphere dropped downwards to the ground for a moment, and she stopped talking. After her pause, she turned it to a young man grooming a chocobo by the cliff's edge.

_"And last of all…there's Yun. He was the first one to travel with me, and the first to say he'd be my guardian. He's a great friend, and he showed me the city of Bevelle! I wasn't allowed in when I came the first time with Uncle Nikolas, when he decided then not to get the aeon there since they wouldn't allow me in the city. Yun went through so much trouble just to sneak me in, oh…hmm, I haven't thanked him for it…"_

The sphere's view dropped again, but faded out this time, and the recording ended there.

"Hmm, wow. So you've known about this?" Nell asked Juma.

"Not necessarily. The story's been around, but we haven't found actual records of it since…only within the decade."

"An Al Bhed _High_ Summoner…hah, wait 'til the church gets a load of this," Milo laughed.

"But wait. That's just it. Why is it that they wouldn't have a shred of evidence of this summoner, of the Calm she brought? Regardless of her background, a High Summoner is a High Summoner. There has to have been something recorded about it. After all, she has obviously been to some of the temples in order to receive aeons. And in the sphere we found, she's surrounded by Crusaders—all Yevonites," Nell protested.

"Cover up? Wouldn't be the only time they've done so…" Milo suggested, rolling his eyes. "I suppose it does explain something. I mean there's such a huge gap of years between Lord Ohalland's Calm and Lady Yocun's compared to the rest."

"Hmm," she thought. "Juma, would you mind if we kept this sphere for a while?"

"Fine with me. Just come right back here when you want to return it."

"Thanks! Well, I think we should look further into this, don't you think, Milo?"

"Hah! Hell yeah."

The two explorers said goodbye, and departed on their search for clues to the story of a possible forgotten Calm.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Again, this is only the intro, so nothing significant to the plot has really happened. It's just about how it came to be that the summoner was discovered. If you've played the sequel (not a great game, though) then think of the explorers as sphere hunters! 'Cause that's sort of what I intended them to be. So yeah, just go on to the next chapter where the story will really begin, and review this one if you feel like it. : )


	2. First Glance

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X.

A/N: All righty, here comes the real chapter! Be ready to be awed by my amazing authoress skeelz! (haha, not really…) : ( Ahem…er, on with the story. And pleeease, oh please review..!

Oh, and remember, this chapter is now the start of the story, so this is Spira about 200 years ago. Don't get confused, k?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: Yevon dictated the life and fate of its believers throughout Spira. Yevon gave birth to summoners, and it was only a summoner who had the power to defeat Sin, then a celebrated Calm always followed. Yevon only knew five great summoners who accomplished such a feat, but what if there had been others? The people merely knew what Yevon told them, right? Well, this is a story of a forgotten Calm brought by a summoner that Yevon couldn't acknowledge, one born of Al Bhed blood--the story of how a Calm came to be in a time of conspired rebellion against the Yevon order.

**A Forgotten Calm**

Chapter 1 – First Glance

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day in Spira…slow, almost unmoving. It's like that for every believer of Yevon—people who live in fear of progress, for it is believed to breed mankind's greed, which fuels Sin's existence. 'We must repent', they all say, each and every single day. People are getting tired. It shows, and for 800 years, it has been this way.

_"It's cold."_

Sitting on the steps leading to the entrance of Macalania Temple, an Al Bhed girl shivered in the everlasting, frigid winter enveloping the vicinity of the lake. She breathed into her hands and rubbed them together for warmth. The caravan she traveled with wasn't going to depart for a while, not until daybreak when it was less cold, more suitable for travel. With the hours approaching dusk, they stopped at the temple to rest, and also to allow the summoner traveling with them to complete the Cloister of Trials and receive his aeon from the fayth within.

The girl buried her numb face into the warmth of her arms wrapped around her knees. "So…freaking…cold."

"Hey."

She looked up from her arms, peering just enough so her cheeks could stay warm in the blanket of her sleeves. Frustrated that she couldn't see the face belonging to the squeak of a voice with her goggles all fogged up, she wiped away at it with her sleeve. The girl couldn't help but give a nice smile to the little boy standing in front of her. "Hi," she said, her breath seen visibly like a thick white cloud in the air.

"You look really cold," he said.

"Yeah, it…it really is cold here."

"So what's your name?" the boy asked, tilting his head.

"I'm Zhara."

"My name's Eri," he said and grinned. He leaned in closer and whispered loudly, "My mommy says I shouldn't be talking to you!"

"Really…" she laughed, knowing well why, and not surprised in the least.

"She says you're a heathen, and that you probably wouldn't even be able to understand us when we talk," he continued, "but you understand me perfectly!"

"Of course," Zhara replied, giggling slightly at his adorable purity.

"And I don't really know what a heathen is…but anyway, I thought you might want this," he said and handed her a bundle of thick fabric.

"Oh…I can't—"

"We have plenty! My mommy sells all kinds of stuff to people. We have lots more like it," he insisted.

She smiled warmly at the boy and accepted his gift. "Why, thank you, then."

He was about to properly bow in Yevon prayer when his mother came by, grabbing her child away.

"Just what are you doing!" she yelled. "I thought I told you not to speak to these people!"

"Oh, umm…excuse me, Miss. He…really just came to offer me this blanket. Please, don't scold him," she tried to explain.

The woman stared at her, dumbfounded. "Y-You…can speak and understand us?" she asked, surprised that this Al Bhed girl really had just spoken their language perfectly.

"He said that this belonged to you. If you would really like it back..." she said and held the bundle out.

"No, that's…quite all right. Just keep it," she said.

There wasn't any sincerity in her words at all, expressing merely obvious distaste in the most courteous way, only because she just happened to realize this girl could understand her. In her mind, this was supposed to be more polite than ignoring her altogether. It was a common thing for Yevonites to think this way, not out of the ordinary in the least. Right…it was just another day in Spira.

"Let's go, Eri. We should go pray in the temple," the boy's mother said coldly and pulled him away with her through the doors, not once looking back.

Zhara watched her disappear behind the closing temple doors with her son. She sighed, then decided to think nothing of it. It certainly wasn't the first time something like that had happened. Al Bheds who often associated with Yevonites were treated this way fairly often, and the exact opposite was not untrue either. So there was always some subtle contempt looming around; it just was never something anyone got worked over about.

------------------------------------------------

That night, the entire caravan gathered around a bonfire outside the temple. Several tents were set up along the long, snowy path leading to the temple entrance where the families slept in during the night. Space inside the temple was reserved for the summoner, his guardians, and only the more important individuals traveling with them. The families were to sleep in the tents while individuals and the escort Crusaders rolled up in thick sleeping bags and blankets in the open. Despite the cold environment, the people were quite lively that night. Young children ran around, playing their games of tag while their parents watched from around the fire, waiting for their dinners to cook. The elderly sat together either swapping old tales or singing the Hymn of the Fayth harmoniously, and the several Crusaders that had been hired to escort the people on their travels engaged in friendly conversations about anything that came to mind from social banter to harrowing experiences on the vanguard.

In this particular group, there were a few Al Bheds—most of them merchants on their way to the Calm Lands to trade. They, of course, predictably associated amongst themselves, and aside from Zhara, there were only several others who could understand the Yevonite language, and only one other person—a middle-aged man, who could speak it fluently as she did. He was the one who helped the others along the way when there was interpretation needed during their travels while Zhara usually just kept to herself, as she didn't have much to say to the busy merchants.

Zhara looked out at the happy people gathered around the bonfire. She'd chosen to sit out for the time being, since earlier, another Al Bhed girl a few years older than her and her younger siblings offered to eat dinner with her, which she gladly accepted. They had conversed many times before, but the girl really just tried to reach out specifically to Zhara since she was pretty much the only other Al Bhed around her age. She explained in one of their conversations that their grandfather had just passed away of old age, and that they were told to go seek relatives in the Calm Lands. Having never set foot off her home island before, she and her siblings had very limited knowledge of the mainland and couldn't speak a word of the Yevonite language. Zhara could see the girl over in the distance, tucking in her youngest brother and stroking the little toddler's hair comfortingly. She looked like a destitute mother at that moment. Zhara sighed, then began heading over to them with Eri's evenly folded gift hanging from her arm.

"Hey," she said, tapping the girl on her shoulder, smiling.

She looked up from her shoulder. "Oh, umm, hello," she greeted with an accent.

Glad that she'd been practicing what little words she learned of the foreign language, Zhara nodded and knelt down by her. "Umm. Why don't you…take this," she spoke slowly, presenting the blanket to her.

The girl looked confused, though she couldn't tell if it was because she didn't understand or if she found the offer to be too generous. "Ah…" she began and frowned. "Eh…cunno sorry," she said.

Now, Zhara was confused by her reaction. "…take this, dyga drec," she offered again.

"Oh!" the girl responded, then laughed. "Ex…cuse me, yes? I…uh, I cannot."

She set the blanket on the girl's lap, insisting. "Please, you should. Oui sicd pa lumt You must be cold," she said. When she saw that the girl couldn't find a reply, she nodded welcomingly.

The girl sighed a smile when she decided to accept it. "Thank you."

Satisfied, Zhara turned around and sauntered down the snowed path, cupping her hands behind her. She browsed around at random people as she walked past them, and exchanged glances with two youths sitting by each other within a small group of Crusaders gathered together several meters away, eating. The two had occasionally glanced over at the group of Al Bheds in curiosity several times while eating, and they'd been watching the interaction between the two girls. They looked away after she passed by.

"You know, I noticed that one girl really doesn't talk much. Sorta weird, considering how loud the others usually get when they're speaking to each other," the tanner young man spoke. He shrugged and took another bite off his plate.

"I dunno," his friend replied. He took a last gulp from his beverage and poured what was left of his dinner onto his friend's plate.

Staring down at it, he shrugged and continued to consume it. "Full already?"

"A bit," he said, stretched out his arms, pulled off his metal-plated facial armor, and laid back, resting his head on his laced fingers. His cheeks puffed up as he inhaled, then released a drawn-out sigh. "I can't wait 'til this is over. I don't really like escorting caravans. Too many greedy merchants in one spot can get irritating. When are we supposed to wake up again?"

"Don't worry, I'll wake 'ya. I'll probably end up having to anyway." He shoved another full spoon in his mouth.

"Yeah, thanks…" he replied, and shut his eyes. "'Night."

------------------------------------------------

Zhara stood at the entranceway to the snow path, staring intently at the setting. She pulled her goggles above her tired eyes, rubbing them and smiled at fond memories that came to mind. She didn't see children playing, people socializing, or hear anyone singing the hymn, or their laughter. All she saw was a summoner she once knew and his little guardian on his shoulders heading toward the temple doors. Then they faded away.

"Tomorrow…Uncle Nikolas, I'll be there," she spoke.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And end chapter 1! So please review and tell me your thoughts. Say whatever you like, just no pointless flaming, please. Flaming never helps; constructive criticism does. I'll try my best to update ASAP and I'll definitely complete this fic. My track record is horrible! There are like a million other fics I tried to write that I deleted…so the ones under my penname aren't the only unfinished ones. I want at least one finished story before my senior year ends, lol. Oh, and don't hesitate to ask any questions about anything. I'm not always the best with wording and I dunno if there's something I wrote might've been confusing or something.

Btw, I'm not sure why, but some of the umm, page breaks, I think they're called...the characters I used for some of the won't show like the equal sign and the uhh...squiggly...thing (it looks like a curvy hyphen). Uh yeah...does anyone know if they can show up? Using repeated hyphens all the time is a little plain.


	3. Gagazet's Memory

(edit: Yes, I've got a title for the chapter now! Thank you, Musica Hikaru! Too lazy to go through and delete all my umm...'I am lame' messages...lol. Just disregard anything about not having a title...) 

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X.

A/N: Just hoping everyone is liking the story so far. Annnd of course…review! (note: did a teeny edit in intro chap; nothing too big, probably isn't even noticeable. It was just to fix some little inconsistency I noticed.) Oh and...I SERIOUSLY couldn't think of a title for this chapter...so it's...um, nameless.. Unless someone has a suggestion? Dx (I'm lame, lame, lame, lame, lame!)

Note: Just a little side note…dialogue that's italicized is supposed to be spoken mentally. In the intro, it was dialogue within the sphere. So..yeah, I think I'll keep it that way unless someone just really, really prefers regular quotations and…blah blah yeah, you know, stuff.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: Yevon dictated the life and fate of its believers throughout Spira. Yevon gave birth to summoners, and it was only a summoner who had the power to defeat Sin, then a celebrated Calm always followed. Yevon only knew five great summoners who accomplished such a feat, but what if there had been others? The people merely knew what Yevon told them, right? Well, this is a story of a forgotten Calm brought by a summoner that Yevon couldn't acknowledge, one born of Al Bhed blood--the story of how a Calm came to be in a time of conspired rebellion against the Yevon order.

**A Forgotten Calm**

Chapter 2 – Gagazet's Memory

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a nice sunny morning the next day, which was a comfortable contrast to Macalania's everlasting white weather. With the winds at a steady breeze for those few days, breakfast had come and gone with ease, and now everyone just had to wait for word about their summoner, and as if on cue, he stepped out from the temple with a humble smile. Every pair of eyes fixed on his triumphant emergence from the doors.

"Were you successful, Summoner?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Please, show us your new aeon!"

Scattered voices called out to him from the small crowd.

"Thank you all," he said graciously and bowed in prayer, "for your concern and enthusiasm. But I think it's best for us all to begin on our way again. Though I would be more than happy to show you my new ally, I have stalled this caravan long enough here, my apologies. My journey has advanced very far already, and I wish to bring Spira a new Calm as soon as I possibly can."

"The Holy Lands lie just beyond the peak of Gagazet. Let us make haste," his guardian spoke.

There were utters of complete appreciation and joy for the summoner as they dispersed, all beginning their march down the snow path to exit the temple grounds. For most of the travelers, their journey would end once they reached the Calm Lands. The path to get there wasn't that long; all that there was left to do was to walk through the icy canyon path back to the Macalania Woods and take a turn that would lead straight out to the plains. The short journey would take no more than just several hours on foot.

Normally, traveling in a caravan like this was a fairly safe way to get around. Teams of Crusaders would be sent to scout ahead and clear the path of any fiends lurking by for the civilians to proceed without harm. At this time of day, it was only the weaker fiends that usually ever showed up, and once they were out of the dimmed woods, the rest of the way was practically danger-free. Everyone began to chatter excitedly when the rocky mountain walls were visibly seen towering around them; it meant that they had reached the valley right outside of the Calm Lands, and their destination was just ahead.

Drowned in the growing chatter, Zhara walked in lone quietness, staring off at the white majestic peaks on the other side of the green field, almost entranced in a pool of assorted emotions and thoughts.

"You thinking of heading off to Gagazet after this?"

Caught by surprise, Zhara hesitantly glanced over at the young man who had asked the question, unsure of whom exactly he had addressed it to. He stood right beside her, looking far into the distance ahead as she did, smiling.

"So, are you?" he asked again, turning to her this time.

Zhara stopped walking and stared at him. It was unusual muteness that came spontaneously, and she didn't even realize it at the time how he might've mistaken her silence as being rude.

The young man stopped in his steps as well and turned around, looking puzzled. He felt a mix of confusion and a pang of embarrassment, afraid that maybe he had tried to converse with perhaps the wrong girl.

"You…can understand me, right?" he asked in a frown, just to be sure she was the same person he had seen the night before. Short, blond hair, same black outfit with the white sleeves…it _should've _been the same girl.

Zhara finally realized that she hadn't been saying a thing to him, now just snapping out of her hazy mental state. He was that Crusader she walked by yesterday, and she was just standing there like a deaf idiot while he had tried doing a polite gesture by just talking to her. Amazingly enough she still managed to hide this inner agitation from appearing on her face. It was getting a bit awkward for them both, but Zhara just kept quiet, this time in good-humor.

"Umm…hmmm," he thought to himself, now starting to really think he had spoken to the wrong person.

"You're…very out of the ordinary, aren't you?" she finally said, then walked past him.

The young Crusader furrowed his brows in confusion. "Okay…well, you know, I was just trying to start some friendly conversation…" he said, now somewhat offended by her rather forward remark.

Zhara stopped and cupped her hands over her mouth to stifle just a little laughter, which he didn't notice. She glanced over her shoulder only to see the growing irritation in him, so she turned around to show her mirthful grin.

"I was just kidding," she said and walked over to him. "You're not mad, are you?" she asked, seeing that he didn't appear to be as amused.

"Oh, no…not at all. Sorry, it's just for a while there you really—yeah…" he quickly told her.

She nodded and smiled. "But you know, I really do appreciate you coming to talk to me. Doesn't really happen often. You're very nice."

"I-It's nothing. I just saw you the other night and I didn't know you could speak this well. I would've talked to you sometime before if I did."

"You don't have anything against Al Bheds?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'm not so iffy about that kind of stuff."

"Really…"

Seeing the end of the valley just up ahead, she ran off. When she reached the grassy ledge at the exit of the valley, she turned around and shouted, "By the way, my name's Zhara. What's yours?"

"I'm Yun!" called back to her and ran to catch up. Standing by her, he exhaled and pulled his protective goggles away, revealing prominent hazel eyes, and let it sit on the plate of his facial armor covering his forehead. "Nice to meet you," he said with a polite smile.

"Yun," she repeated. "…You have really nice eyes."

"You really think so? I mean—" he laughed, taking it as a joke or tease.

"No, no…_really_. You have nice eyes," she said again. "I think they're a pretty color. And it kinda compliments your hair."

Yun picked at one of his dark brown locks to look at. "Really…?"

Zhara could tell her compliments were starting to make him feel awkward, so she waved her hand and shook her head to dismiss any of it. She turned around to look at the entire view of the Calm Lands. There were flocks of chocobos scattered all over the field, and warriors—Crusaders, chocobo knights, any sort of fighter—were training along side them. At the center of the Calm Lands was a tiny settlement where native merchants set up their tents and awnings open for business. Each day, travelers would stop there to buy, sell, and trade. There was also a small chocobo ranch for people to rent at.

Many of the Crusaders in the caravan's escort were seen running out to the field to join those who were training. In the distance, one man waved up to them and called out, "Hey, Yun! See'ya, okay?"

He waved back to him. "Later!" he replied.

"Is he a friend?" Zhara asked.

"Yeah, kind of. We actually just met during this job. You really do get to meet a lot of people on missions though," he said and headed down the slope to the field. "Come on!"

"You're not staying here?" she asked, following along.

"Nope. I've got one more job. A few of us still have to take the summoner to Mt. Gagazet. You're heading there, right?"

"…Yeah."

She followed Yun to where everyone was gathered at the bottom of the slope. There, more escorts, some newly hired, lined up beside the summoner and his guardian.

"I am truly thankful for your aid, sir."

"Think nothing of it, Lord Ismail." A knight standing beside an armored chocobo bowed his head and spoke, "it's the least we can do."

Giving their final words of luck and gratitude, everyone departed for the snowy mountains guided by the chocobo knight. Yun and Zhara followed closely behind.

"Is it all right for me to be coming with you?" she asked him.

"Don't worry. Look, some of the other civilians are coming too. They probably want to go trade with the Ronsos," he assured her. "Which…reminds me. Why exactly are you going?"

The question came unexpectedly, and for a moment, the answer ringing clearly in her head brought her discomfort. She hesitated before replying. "It's…a personal matter."

It was obviously a vague answer, but Yun didn't comment.

Advancing to the sacred mountain wasn't long or arduous. Fiend sightings around the Calm Lands weren't particularly common until you reached the base of Gagazet, where the temperature then began to drop, and snow started falling. Awaiting the summoner's arrival were many warrior Ronsos standing at the entrance to Gagazet's path. Not so many words were exchanged between them since the summoner had intended to keep a quick pace to his destination. Everyone watched him give his farewells and returned with their blessings of Yevon, and then he left.

Looking around, Yun was surrounded by merchants flocking around each other with business deals and propositions while customers, most of whom were Crusaders and knights from the training grounds down on the plains, searched scrupulously around for affordable supplies and arms. Before long, he had finally noticed that Zhara had already left.

-----------------------------------------------------

_"__It's cold."_

Within a short promenade's time, she arrived at the site of the summoners' memorial. Stepping steadily ahead, Zhara came closer and closer until she stood directly in its presence. She kneeled before it, staring idly at the stone monument blanketed by freshly falling snow. Her knees were cold against the ground, but that hardly mattered.

"I'm here. Sorry that I'm late."

Downed in the song of the mountain accompanied by the faint voice of the winds, she sighed. This was her private ritual, year after year since then, since the death of the one summoner she had loved dearly like a father. And there, etched into the monument was his name, right in the middle of the massive pool of names belonging to others who had fallen on the unforgiving mountain, long forgotten in the last 800 years.

"There's a lot to say," she spoke with optimism. "I…umm, well I wanted to tell—" her words were interrupted by an outward gasp, as she nearly fell forward from a sudden tremor coming from farther up the path. She darted an alert glance in its direction.

_"The summoner…!"_

Hastily, she got back on her feet, but right before rushing off, she turned back to the monument and gave a last prayer, then dashed up the trail.

"Sorry."

-----------------------------------------------------

Everyone froze in fright at the abrupt rumble.

"What the hell…?" Yun mumbled to himself.

"It came in that direction!"

"Was that…a fiend?"

"Lord Summoner Ismail!"

Voices from all over gasped and cried the worst of their fears. It wasn't long before two warrior Ronsos raced ahead fully armed. Two other Crusaders who remained followed in haste, and one turned straight to the idle Yun and screamed, "Hey! Let's go!"

-  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: End chapter 2! Ok! Well I want to say, this one really didn't turn out exactly…eh, not so great as I wanted it. I don't know, but this chapter seemed a bit boring to me, but I did try my best not to make it so bleh though…(sigh) oh well. I think this one might've been a tad slow. I hate writing slow parts, but I beeeggg everyone…give it some time. Like most lengthy…novel-sized RPG stories, mine will have its slow parts too. : (

This chapter actually originally had more, but then it seemed to drag on a whole lot, so I cut it here and just had the parts after carry on in the next chap. That one should have a lot more…to it, I promise! So, in the next chapter, we'll see what's going on, and I'm gonna go a bit more into character backgrounds. (-sigh-…I can tell already that I think this fic is gonna end up a lot longer than I expected it to be. Hopefully though, I'll start to pick up some more readers!) And umm, I could really use some help with a chapter title...please? I had a title but that only worked when it still included the other part I cut out (bangs head on desk).

Oh and thank you sooo much, Xmaster! (cries) you're my first reviewerrr! I really do hope the story won't start to bore you or anything. I'll try my best to keep it interesting! And I SWEAR, as long as there's at LEAST one person reading this thing, I'll keep writing, lol. I won't care if reviews don't come in, I WILL, I WILL, I WILL!

To Lillian: HAH! I DID write another chapter! And guess what, I'm gonna write ANOTHER one after! Pwahahahaha! You will neverrr get a chance to whack me with a flag during guard practice! (Cause I'll go rifle crazy back on you, lmao.) But geez, knowing us, we'd ending killing each other with equipment either way, haha! Ahem…we truly are guard-geeks. : )


	4. A Guardian’s Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X.

A/N: a-HAH! Chapter 3…POSTED! and y'all thought I couldn't do it… hahahahahahaaaaa! (_cough_) Sorry for such a long delay…I borrowed Shadow Hearts: Covenant from my cousin and have been playing it the past uhh, hmmmm…whatever days/weeks. Lol, yeah, awesome game ( 3 Nicolai):D I finally recently beat it so I can get back to typing!

Ooooh, aaand, of course…thanks to all reviewers! Yay, Elizabeth finally read it! Haha!

And to FinalXFlight07: thanks for your encouragement! Though about FF10-2…umm, heh, I didn't really ask about…yeah : ( but thanks anyway? I've already beaten the game, though it wasn't at 100. But I cheated and downloaded the "perfect" ending online, xD. And that's pretty coincidental that I happened to use your name o.O; It was just something I pulled out of my head, like every other name I come up with…and knowing me, some names are probably ones I've just randomly heard before x.x

All right, done with thank yous…on to the chapter!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: Yevon dictated the life and fate of its believers throughout Spira. Yevon gave birth to summoners, and it was only a summoner who had the power to defeat Sin, then a celebrated Calm always followed. Yevon only knew five great summoners who accomplished such a feat, but what if there had been others? The people merely knew what Yevon told them, right? Well, this is a story of a forgotten Calm brought by a summoner that Yevon couldn't acknowledge, one born of Al Bhed blood--the story of how a Calm came to be in a time of conspired rebellion against the Yevon order.

**A Forgotten Calm**

Chapter 3 – A Guardian's Promise

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_"There!"_

Zhara could see them far in the distance, and there right before them—an enormous fiend, a dangerous one of the uncommon ogre breed.

"Lord Ismail, please stand back!" the guardian screamed as he rushed at the creature with his sword in hand.

The summoner did keep his distance, standing at the edge of the trail, but only to ready himself for calling forth an aeon. His guardian took a swing at the fiend, but the sword was stopped dead in the grip of one of its four hands.

"What…?" his eyes widened in shock.

It tore his sword from his hold, flinging it away and gave a forceful punch, sending the man flying backwards, straight at Ismail. His guardian struck him before he could finish his summoning, and to his horror, his interference caused the summoner to fly over the edge, plummeting down the snowy canyon.

"NO!"

Zhara nearly stumbled over herself. The guardian hadn't noticed, but his horrified shriek was accompanied by her own. Time felt as though it slowed down for those few seconds. Old, unwanted memories flashed through the girl's mind.

_"Uncle Nikolas…"_

A paralyzing chill ran through her body, and she stopped, staring at a dead memory. Zhara closed her eyes, sinking down to her knees.

_"I…can't…!"_

_"What are you doing! Run!"_

Voices from the black and white reminiscence echoed through her hollowed consciousness.

_"…I can't!"_

_"Run, dammit!"_

…And the unforgettable memory wouldn't go away.

_"RUN!"_

"What the hell are you doing! Run!"

The sound of a familiar voice rang clearly from behind. Coming back to her senses, Zhara got up and looked around, breathing heavily. There, not far behind were the group of warriors coming to the summoner's aid, and with them was Yun. She found her ground again and looked back at the guardian who was still in danger.

"I can't run this time…" she told herself. "Not after…" She inhaled a long breath and carried on forward.

"...the hell is that girl doing?" Yun muttered under his breath. "Damn it!"

"Just this once…!" Zhara spoke to herself and closed her eyes, slowly gaining necessary calmness.

_"Please come, Ixion!"_

She thrust her arm forward, sending out a glowing blue glyph into the air. Emerging from the glyph were bright bolts of lighting, then a majestic unicorn leapt from the seal, letting out a thunderous neigh as it landed. Galloping beside its summoner, Ixion awaited orders.

"Save him, hurry!" she instructed, and it raced ahead.

Just as the fiend advanced on the man, Ixion launched its Aerospark attack. The discs flew past—one striking its readied fist, successfully halting its assault. Stumbling back several steps, the fiend tried to shake off the damage, and Ixion stopped by the awe-stricken guardian's side, defensively rearing its single horn at the target.

"A-Are you all right?" Zhara asked him, short of breath as she stopped beside him.

"…That wasn't…Lord Is—how did you…?" he questioned her.

Staring at him without words, she turned away, directing her attention back to the creature before them. Recovering from the blow, the fiend raised all of its fists, now completely angered. Intimidated, Zhara backed away just slightly, giving a doubtful glance at her aeon from behind. She knew that Ixion may not have had the strength to hold up against a fiend of this level, since she was well aware that none of her very few aeons had ever been properly trained, and neither had she.

The monster took a slow step forward, glaring menacingly at its cornered prey. Without any warning, it pulled back one of its fists and charged. Giving a petrified gasp, Zhara impulsively flinched, but before the fiend could even swing a punch, one of the Ronso warriors tackled it, brandishing his long halberd. Slowly opening her eyes, she watched as both of the Ronso fighters ferociously leapt onto the fiend, slashing away with the might and prowess that these mountain warriors were infamously known for.

"Hey! Damn it! Zhara!" Yun called, approaching the idle girl.

Her attention instantly shifted over to him, snapping out of her fear and amazement. "Yun," she uttered.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing here?" he asked.

Zhara took a breath to clear her head, allowing her adrenaline to die down a bit. "There…was that tremor. I-I didn't want anybody to get hurt."

Yun sighed, knowing well this sort of reckless bravery often resulted horribly. He turned to the aeon standing before them, then back at her. "How in the world…?" he muttered, trying to piece this scene together.

Choking on her own breath, Zhara pointed at an approaching fiend behind him.

He quickly turned around, and before them came a group of three Grenades, hovering in a wobble. One fell behind, struck by a blizzara spell cast by one of the two other Crusaders. They then assaulted it together in its moment of weakness.

Yun glared at the two fiends frustratingly, slowly readying his sword.

Zhara balanced herself and stood firmly, trying to gather courage. "Ixion…" she whispered.

Getting ready to fight, Yun collected himself. He tightened his grip on his sword's hilt and rushed at one of the Grenades. It drew back and launched itself at him. To avoid it, he swung his blade to parry, and the fiend was knocked back. Shaking it off, it swelled up, and began charging up to cast firaga on him.

Zhara looked back on the injured man behind her, who watched the battles before him, feeling dejected and useless. Ixion still stood by her, and its presence gave her much needed comfort.

"Ixion," she spoke hesitantly, "g-go…go!"

At her order, the aeon neighed in zeal, and the startled blue fiend immediately rushed at them. Taking a brief moment to charge up, Ixion cast a thundaga spell, which exploded on the Grenade on impact. The aeon galloped forward before it could recover and slashed at it with its horn, tearing through the fiend. Zhara was stunned at the sight of it bursting into pyreflies. She couldn't help but smile for Ixion's victory. Nearby, the other Grenade that the two Crusaders had fought dissolved away as well, and that left just two more fiends.

As the firaga spell went off in a blast of heat and embers, Yun was forced back and fell to his knees. The might of that explosion was hard to bear on impact. He swung his sword clumsily at it when it got near, warding it off. A small tremor shook everyone after the larger fiend that the Ronsos were fighting fell, nearly defeated.

"I will finish this!" the taller of the two bellowed. "Out of my way!" he shouted to everyone. Gathering strength and energy for an overdrive, he roared and sped over to the remaining Grenade, hitting it with his Thrust Kick ability.

The giant, blue-flamed ball was sent sailing back at the large four-armed fiend, which managed to scramble back onto its feet. Crashing into its torso, the Grenade forced it back again, this time flying right into the mountain wall behind it. Although it seemed like the fight was over, the Grenade started to rumble uncontrollably.

"Everybody, clear out!" a Crusader shouted, anticipating what was about to happen.

Heeding her warning, they began to run off to safety. Seeing Zhara struggle to get the injured guardian on his feet, Yun and a Ronso rushed over to assist. The two helped the man onto the Ronso's back, and they all made a run for it. Looking back from down the snow path, everyone watched the Grenade self-destruct—its blast echoing through the mountain. They could see from where they stood that its explosion caused the ground there to shatter, and the large fiend fell through the broken earth, following the fate of the fallen summoner.

Zhara had dismissed Ixion long ago, away from the attention of the others. Though the last thing she wanted was to attract attention, she didn't have much to worry over since it would've taken some time for anyone to finally realize it, seeing as how everyone's primary concern was for their dead summoner and his injured guardian. Shortly after arriving at the entrance of the Gagezet path, the guardian immediately received medical attention, and she took this opportunity to quickly leave the scene. She stumbled hastily down the dirt path to the valley at Mt. Gagazet's base. There were plenty of things springing up in her head right then, but all she wanted to do at the moment was to get away, to just go home.

"Hey, where are you going?" she could hear Yun calling not far away, but she ignored him, walking even faster until she was almost running.

"Zhara!" he called as he caught up and grabbed her arm to stop her. "Sheesh, what's wrong with you?"

She roughly pulled her arm out of his grasp and sighed angrily. "What do you want?"

His concern quickly turned into anger. "Well first off, do you have any idea how reckless it was of you to try and take on that thing all by yourself! That was probably a Wendigo! Do you know how strong those fiends are?"

"What was I supposed to do? He might have died!" she protested.

"Yeah? Well so could you!" he yelled. "And second, you mind telling me just how in the world you called that aeon?" he asked, calming down.

Zhara nervously shifted her eyes around and blinked several times, searching for the right reply. After the irritation of her goggles finally became unbearable, she pulled them above her eyes and wiped the few welling, bothersome tears away.

"Damn it…" she mentally cursed at herself for breaking down already. Feeling defeated, she dragged her feet across the dirt to sit by the suspended rope-bridge nearby and waited until she could calm down enough to talk.

"What's wrong?" Yun asked. Seeing her behavior during the attack, he found it strange that it could have been even _this_ traumatizing for her.

"I was raised by a Yevonite, a summoner, actually," she began. Her voice sounded scratchy as she was still in the process of trying to stop from crying. "I was six. And one day, he decided to leave on a pilgrimage—a second one, and he took me along."

Yun sat down beside her, listening closely.

"Uncle Nikolas. He would call me his 'little guardian'," she continued, smiling at the recollection. "While we were going through the temples, he umm…he actually let me receive two aeons in his place, saying 'what's a better guardian for a summoner than a second summoner?', and so he showed me how to do it, just like him. Growing up, he taught me everything he knew about the teachings of Yevon, but whenever I brought up anything about summoners, he'd scold me. I really didn't understand why he suddenly decided to teach me how to perform a summoning then. B-But umm, well we arrived here, at Mt. Gagazet. This…is where he died. I came to visit the memorial. I come every year."

The young Crusader had listened intently and stood up to move around. "…Sorry."

Standing up herself, Zhara walked further along the rope-bridge and leaned on a support rope, looking off into the distance of the valley. "It's…sort of ironic. Nikolas' wife, his first guardian, actually died here, too; that's why he never completed his first pilgrimage. He cursed at the mountain before our climb, and a Ronso got angry at him for it. I've hated it here ever since, but now I just feel stupid for never being able to do anything about it—I was a stupid, freaking kid." A breeze picked up during the brief moment of silence. "I'm really sorry for causing any trouble…really. It's just, I was too scared then, and it got Uncle Nikolas killed. It couldn't happen again."

Yun gave a few understanding nods. "So you're not _really_ a summoner…"

Zhara's face contorted in disbelief, and she turned to him. "That's _all_ you got from everything I just said?"

He laughed. "No, no, I'm just saying."

"Well, I'm not one who's traveling from temple to temple collecting aeons to battle Sin, if that's what you mean by 'a summoner'," she said almost disdainfully.

"Okay then, so you're a summoner, but not_ really_. Hmm…well umm, if it's any consolation at all, I do understand…sort of. I lost my dad a while ago. The guy was a Crusader, too," he said with a proud smile while noticing favorably that he had the girl's attention. "They'd just started building a town on that island--Besaid, and he was stationed there to protect the people from fiends since there wasn't any real shelter yet at the time. Fiends, hah...no problem, but Sin came one day, and all the Crusaders were ordered to drive it away from the island through whatever means necessary. When it did finally leave, it left the shore completely torn up and nearly everyone dead in its wake."

"He was killed by Sin?" she asked empathically.

Nodding, he continued. "In Spira…everyone's really destined to lose somebody. So we have to just all stay together and try to help everyone else. That's what I've always been taught growing up. I'm sure you were, too."

Zhara's eyes trailed off to a corner. "I guess."

Yun could notice her finally loosening up, so he went on. "My mom nearly killed me when I told her I wanted to be a Crusader like him. Being near a crazy-mad woman in a kitchen…with _metallic_ utensils—things like _knives_?" he joked. He couldn't help but glance over at her after hearing a small bit of laughter finally escape from her former moodiness. "You have a really nice smile," he said and enjoyed her silly, awkward reaction. She stopped giggling as though she'd been slapped across the face. "Hah! So you can't take a compliment yourself now, can you?" he smirked.

Bashfully, she looked away. When she finally got over it, she decided that it was time to leave. She never intended to end up telling anyone about her ability to summon an aeon, nor did she ever intend to ever really use it, so the last thing she wanted now was more people inquiring about it.

"I, uh…better go now," she told him and reached for the goggles resting on her forehead.

"Wait," he said, holding out an open hand. "Umm, keep it like that."

Zhara furrowed her brows, giving him a puzzled look. Seeing how she didn't understand what he meant, Yun tapped on his own pair of goggles wound around his face guard.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, but she was still baffled by his suggestion. "Why?"

"It just…it looks better."

"Okay, then," she shrugged.

"Why _do_ you still wear that? It's an Al Bhed thing, right? Weren't you raised a Yevonite?" he asked as they headed back to the Calm Lands.

"Nikolas was kind of a lot like you. He wasn't…a religious zealot; he hated people like that, always saying that they made Spira a worse place for everyone by causing more conflict. He always encouraged me to retain tradition, as long as it wasn't that sacrilegious or anything. He practically tried to show me off to the entire world, just to stick it in their faces that he didn't… '_give a flying moogle's ass_' about racial backgrounds," Zhara laughed, emphasizing her quoted remark.

"Interesting choice of words."

"He was such a lame old man. It was one of his favorite expressions."

Yun stopped to look around the field, taking a deep breath. He'd been to the Calm Lands to train many times before, and he really enjoyed it. Fiend occurrences were uncommon, he had a chance to relax in the open outdoors, and there were chocobos everywhere.

"I'll race 'ya," he challenged.

"On a chocobo?" she asked nervously, having never really ridden one before.

"Nah, let's see who can reach…_that_ tent first," he said, pointing to the nearest visible thing within the central camp in the plains.

"Hmm, all right then," Zhara readily accepted. "This should be fu—"

"Ready, GO!"

"H-Hey! I didn't even—" she cried, watching as Yun gradually pulled ahead of her more and more. "Sheesh, this guy can freaking run…" she muttered while eyeing his smug grin after he'd swiftly beaten her to the goal. When she made it, she bent over, completely out of breath while Yun laughed in his cheap victory. Shooting an icy glare, she smacked him in the arm. "You suck!"

"Agh! Hey, what was that for?"

"Damn cheater!" she yelled and raised a fist, almost ready to hit him again.

"Okay! Okay! For someone so slow, you have…somewhat abnormally strong upper-body strength," he remarked, rubbing his beaten arm.

"I'm not slow!" she argued, "Hmph! Well, if we were swimming, I'd beat you anytime!" she said, smirking confidently.

"Oh? Fine, I might just take you up on that challenge in the near future, then!"

Zhara turned around in joking arrogance and continued on as Yun followed. Unnoticed by either of the two were numerous pairs of staring eyes following the both of them as though there were some old, bickering couple.

"So where are you heading off to?" Yun asked.

"Going back to Luca, I guess."

"You're from Luca? What's it like during blitz season?"

"Reeeally crowded and loud. Nights are restless since the team fanatics go nuts and take over the streets when they get drunk, but watching the games is always exciting. Though I suppose I probably take it for granted like everyone else from the city; no one has to really go anywhere to see games while others have to travel so far just to watch one. Where are you from?"

"Bevelle."

"Really? Wow, what's it like there…?" her face lit up in curiosity.

"Well…it's…it's big."

"So's Luca," she said sarcastically.

"Hmm, well you mean, you've never seen it before for yourself? I mean, I know you're an Al Bhed, but what about the pilgrimage you went on with your uncle?"

"Nope. They wouldn't let me in at all, so Uncle Nikolas decided not to visit any of the temples there. I think he hated Bevelle, actually. But hearing about how grand the city is…I'd really like to at least see it."

Yun stopped and contemplated for a moment.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"All right! I'll tell you what—I thought I'd go visit my mom soon anyway, so we can stop there on our way to Luca!"

"_Our_ way?"

"I'll come with you."

"Wait…I, I don't need any—"

"Oh, come on. I can go as your escort."

"I don't have anything to pay you with, you know."

"Fine, then…I'll be your guardian…for now."

"Guardian? Hey, you're the one who said I wasn't even a real summoner…" she reminded him.

"Pfft, never mind that," he scoffed. "Look, I promise you I'll get you into Bevelle without any trouble. Then after, I'll take you back to Luca."

Zhara thought hard on his offer, but was still quite indecisive. "I know relations with the Al Bhed are a little better now…but in _Bevelle_? And with all the suspicions about the Anti-Yevon groups…"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. I'll keep you safe, I promise. I can think of something when we get there."

There was that word again. 'Promise'. "I don't know…"

"It's freeeeee!" he sang.

"…Free, huh?" she almost lit up at the sound of the word. "Mighty tempting…but no, that wouldn't be very fair," she joked and tapped her index finger on her lips in thought. "Okay, how about when we get to Luca, I'll treat you to a league game at the stadium. First game of the season starts in just a few days."

"Sounds great."

"It's a promise, then?" she asked.

Yun gave a sincere smile. "I promise."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All done! Man, and how long did this one take me to get posted? x.X (is laaazy). I think this chapter came out a lot better than the previous, though! But I'd love to hear your comments! And I'd also like to know if the fight against the fiends was any good. I know I probably suck ass at writing fight scenes but…I'll try and try and try! But I won't get any better if no one tells me anything! (sniff) I miss Shadow Hearts…now I don't have anything to play anymore T-T My days will again be drowned in eternal boredom! (goes to hang self) : D jk, jk. I still have this fic to finish! I can't die yet! o.o

As you probably noticed, this chapter is a few pages longer than the last ones, and I really don't know what a good length is, so if anyone feels I'm writing too much or too little or something, do tell. (And I still need a title for Chap. 2 : ) Also, just…I guess another warning, er…note…notice—this fic is gonna be lengthy. I don't know how many chapters, but I'm guessing most definitely at LEAST 10-15. So…you know, just expect a gradual telling of the story, so pleeease don't get impatient or anything!


	5. To the Bustling Yevon Capital

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X.

BWAAA! Sorry for the lateness… : ( All I'll say is that I've been far too lazy…but I was also recently on vacation! Also been pooped from color guard practice x.x; But I promise I WILL always update (eventually)! I will always update until it ends! I SWEAR! UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE! O.O;

Also thanks to reviewers, as usual! And don't worry, Musica Hikaru, I won't quit! . (And I won't forget to email you on updates!) And credits to you for the title change on chapter 2. Thanks!

Oh, and to Xmaster, I used the reply feature in the reviews to answer your question, so I think it should've popped up in your email or something…so uhh…I guess if it's not there and you're still unclear about some things, I could email you directly if you'd like (just remember to tell me!). : )

Waaarrrrning—this chapter is a product of total (and very…umm…a lot of) halfassed-ness… (_bracing for not-so-great reviews…if any at all. _o.o;)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blegh, screw the summary. xD

**A Forgotten Calm**

Chapter 4 – To the Bustling Yevon Capital

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normally, the deep woods of Macalania were immersed in an eerie silence, so still, that it was as though you were walking through a painting frozen in time…normally. Grumbling through each ungraceful step was a teemingly irritable Zhara following what seemed to be a very frustrated Yun. Both were too caught up in their predicament to appreciate the gloomy beauty of the woods.

"We're lost, aren't we?" she complained, gritting her teeth. The girl's small frame was rigid in annoyance as she decided then to refuse to advance another hopeless step, standing in the clearing, arms crossed.

"Ummmmmmm…n-no…of course not," he curtly replied, though really trying to hide his fretful face from her sight.

"You're a CRAPPY liar!" she roared, causing him to flinch just a teensy bit.

"Well…I'm _pretty_ sure the main road is close by," he squeaked, scratching his head nervously.

"Let's take a _shortcut_, Zhara! I _definitely _know the way! We'll get there in _no_ time!" she mocked in blatant sarcasm. "Some guardian _you_ are!"

Yun's face drooped in dejection as he gave a drawn out sigh, giving up trying to find the route again from where they stood. "Agh, don't…worry. W-we'll be fine," he stammered. He gave his tired arms a good stretch, walking over to where Zhara stood and let himself drop to the ground for a little rest.

When they first entered the Macalania Woods, they followed the main road until nightfall, where they managed to find a small camp to spend the night at with several other travelers, continuing on their way again in the morning. Well, it was quite past noon now, and they'd been wandering around for hours since Yun had made his genius suggestion to take a little "detour".

Zhara sat herself on a flat rock nearby, resting her chin in her palm. She stared at the ground, digging a little hole with the tip of her shoe while trying to think about what to do next, but also taking the moment to relax a little bit, too. Just as the nice, peaceful quietness of the woods began to sink in, the hoarse sound of a hungry stomach grated their ears. She stared down at the mildly embarrassed Yun on the ground.

He gave her a stern glare before she could go on and start saying anything about it, which she returned with a stifled giggle, having never heard such a loud tummy cry before. Yun silently reached for his bag and rummaged through it for a snack.

"Eh, come on…where…are…they…?" he grumbled to himself.

"Seriously…it's _three_ apples. Don't tell me you lost them!"

"No," he uttered derisively when he finally felt the fruits, "they're right _here_…" Yun pulled out a small cloth and set it on the ground, unfolding it to reveal three shiny, pink apples. He then picked one out and took a bite…or several.

Watching the guy stuffing himself silly, Zhara rolled her eyes. "Aren't you gonna offer _me_ one?"

He immediately stopped chewing and swallowed everything in one gulp. Handing her an apple, he gave a little embarrassed smile. "Sorry."

"Good plan—eat all the apples and let your summoner starve. Then when the fiends come, you can run the hell out of there all refreshed, while _she_ gets eaten!" Zhara laughed. Before eating it just yet, she fiddled it around her hands for a while. "You're a natural guardian, haha."

"So…" they both spoke over each other. A short pause came right after, then some laughter.

"You first…" Zhara said.

Yun took a bite of the apple, which was just about half-eaten by now. "I was just thinking…" he said with a full mouth, "It's sort of weird for Al Bheds to wear those goggles. I mean…" he took a pause to swallow, then glanced up at Zhara's eyes.

Feeling awkward, she scowled and asked "…What?"

He started squinting to get a better look at her eyes. "Would you stop shifting around?"

"Well, stop staring!"

"Wait! I just want to get a better look!" he complained, leaning in closer.

"Hmph." Crossing her arms peevishly, she sat still, keeping her eyes open long enough for him to look. After a few seconds she flailed her arms around and shooed him off. "Okay! Go away!"

"Anyway, so yeah…does every Al Bhed have spiraled pupils just like that?" he asked. Of course, everyone knew that the most distinguishing difference that the Al Bhed people had were their pupils, but he'd never seen them clearly up close before, aside from a few other instances when he only noticed Zhara's. "I think they look cool."

She narrowed her eyes at him and raised a brow. "You…do?" she asked, a little skeptical. Never had she heard such an odd comment before either.

"Yeah, that's why I just wondered why everyone has their eyes hidden all the time."

"You know…I really don't know myself," she answered, frowning at the realization.

"Well anyway, what were you going to say?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how old you were," she nonchalantly replied, taking another bite from her barely eaten apple.

"Nineteen."

She looked somewhat teasingly dumbfounded at his answer. "Huh…really…"

"What?" he retorted, feeling slightly offended.

"Nothing, I actually just thought…well you—" she snickered, then started laughing.

"Weirdo…what's so funny?" Yun picked up a tiny pebble nearby and tossed it at her head. "And how old are you supposed to be then?"

"Ow!" she cried, rubbing her head, all while still wearing a cocky smirk. "I'll be turning eighteen soon." Zhara bent over and felt around for the pebble he threw, but froze at the sight of something creeping around in the shrubbery up ahead. She stared apprehensively around that area.

"What? What is it…?" Yun asked.

"I swear I just saw—"

In an alarming instant, a Snow Wolf unexpectedly darted from the shadows. The sudden startle had caused Zhara to jolt and fall over, so when the fiend leapt at them, it latched its jaws onto Yun's arm and knocked him over. He wrestled relentlessly with it while it snapped at him, making it difficult for him to unsheathe his sword.

Panicking, the girl jumped on her feet, fidgeting around frantically. "Ahh, what do I do? What do I do!" she hollered. While shaking her hands around hysterically, she remembered about the apple she was still holding. Anxiously looking at it, then at the fiend, she bit her lower lip. "Ugh…" Grimacing, she hoped she wouldn't miss. "Keep…still!" she cried and hesitantly threw the fruit as hard as she could, which to her surprise actually hit it square on the head.

The Snow Wolf jerked its rabid eyes in her direction after shaking it off and snarled, dripping thick saliva from its fangs. Before it could strike, she dropped to the ground on impulse and started grabbing whatever rocks her hands could reach, bombarding the fiend with them while mindlessly rambling profanities at it.

"Get lost, stupid MUTT! Son of a, a—" she stopped and ran her hands all over the ground, but could only grasp clumps of dirt and sand, "oh, crap…"

Sitting there, nervously twitching, Zhara stared at the enraged Snow Wolf. Letting out a chilling, low-tone snarl, gritting its fangs, it sprung at her. Her eyes snapped shut almost instantly, but her ears bizarrely picked up a sharp, puppy-like yelp. Opening an eye at a time, what she saw before her was a cloud of pyreflies dispersing from where Yun's sword stood, lodged into the ground where the fiend just was.

"You…okay?" he asked.

She briskly got up on her feet, brushing off dirt from her clothes. "Uh, yeah, I guess," she clumsily replied, and pretended to clear a knot in her throat. "Umm, thanks. Are you?"

"I'm fine," Yun replied, shaking the arm the Snow Wolf had latched itself on, thankful for those standard armguards Crusaders were issued. He pulled his sword from the ground, but suddenly threw his head down snickering before he could slip it back into its sheath.

She gave a snappy pout and noticeably reddened up. "What!"

"You know…for future reference, throwing an apple and a bunch of rocks at a fiend isn't going to do a whole lot of good," he teased.

"Shut up!" she cried and gave him a nice smack in the arm. "What was I supposed to do? Beat it with a twig?"

"Try…summoning an aeon or two?"

"No! I can't. I-I don't want to."

"You don't _want_ to?" he asked, mildly confused. "Say a huge fiend or Sinspawn showed up, you won't summon anything 'cause you don't _want_ to?"

"It's not…I just… No, okay? I'm not a summoner. I don't want to go around calling on aeons. It just doesn't feel right…" she tried to explain.

"Whatever you say," he replied, shrugging.

"Well, who cares? It worked, didn't it?"

"Yeah…sure, if you want to say so. Anyway, I'll tell you what—if there's time, which I'm pretty sure there'll be plenty of, I can teach you a few things about using a weapon properly. Here—" he said, holding out his sword, facing the hilt out to her.

She looked hesitantly at it, cautiously reaching for it as though it was a poisonous snake, or bug, or something.

"It's just a friggin' sword! Take it!" he said assuringly, practically throwing the weapon at the girl.

Zhara grabbed it with both hands tightly while Yun slowly let go of it, making sure that she really had it firmly held, but right when he released his grip, the full weight of the sword nearly pulled her over. He quickly fumbled his hands back onto the hilt to help her support the weight again.

"Maybe this one's a little too heavy for you…" Yun commented. "That's fine, you can practice with a stick or something 'til we find a lighter sword you can use," he waved off, putting his sword back into his sheath.

She gave a skeptic look. "A _stick_?"

"Yeah. What? I'm serious! You can fight with a wooden sword, you know…granted, it isn't so common these days," he explained pushing his way through the shrubby thicket in front of him.

Following behind, Zhara picked up the apple she threw. Frowning at it being all dirty now, she started wiping the fruit with her white sleeve while walking to catch up with Yun. He watched her angrily polish the fruit and decided to take the apple from her before she ended up wiping it into mush.

"Hey…!"

Yun dropped the third, untouched apple in her hands. "Eat that one, you dork," he told her. Taking a quick inspection of the one he took from her, he took a bite, seeing nothing wrong with it.

Zhara grimaced, a little disgusted. That apple was way past the ten-second rule. Watching him, she assumed he was probably like most other guys; they'll eat anything that looks half-edible. She shrugged her thoughts away and ate her clean apple without any complaints.

Barely ten paces or so later, Yun stopped dead when he pushed through the next thicket, staring at the sight before him. Zhara froze right before taking another bite in the same manner.

"YES!" she shouted and jumped.

"Wow, so the main road was right here the whole time…" Yun mumbled, slightly dumbfounded.

Not only had they found the main road again, but they just _happened_ to find their way to the end of the forested path, practically right out of the way from the Highbridge to Bevelle. Since this was a rest stop, there were tons of merchants with customers flocked all around them.

"So," the girl began, hopping capriciously in front of Yun, "what're we doing now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're right outside of Bevelle now. Got anymore bright ideas?" she asked, slyly reminding him about the little promise he made.

"_Oh_…umm, g-give me a second…"

"You haven't thought of anything?"

He tensed up at her remark and tried to quickly find an appeasing reply. "I…I'm getting there. Just go," he said, pushing her forward as he walked out from the woods. "Go…buy stuff or something."

"Ow! Hey, what are you—stop it! Let go, let g—WHOA!" She stumbled over after he gave her a good shove. "What's wrong with you!"

"I'll be right back, see'ya!" he hastily shouted, running off before she could protest.

Zhara eyed him strangely until he disappeared into the crowds. After getting back up and brushing dirt off herself, she gave an exasperated shrug and proceeded to shop around just as he suggested. Sauntering casually ahead, she glanced around at the merchandise shown all around. After noticing a waste bin sitting around nearby, she took a few last bites from the apple and tossed it in while passing by it. She perused the selections, occasionally popping her head over someone's shoulder to give closer observation of the items that caught her eye, still chewing quite unceremoniously with a full mouth while she was at it.

She was really unsure of what to buy. They both had plenty of the necessary supplies, so that wasn't much of a problem. Stopping abruptly in the middle of the small road, she opened up the bag slung from her shoulder to double-check everything.

"Everything we need's here…" she said to herself. "Hmm."

Thinking thoroughly, she knew there must have been something else that they really could use. It finally hit her like a rock to the head (_wait…_). She wiggled her way past the people packed along the way.

"Excuse me! Sorry…" she squeaked while bumping into everyone she came by. "Perfect!" she thought, stopping in front of one merchant's table.

-------------------------------------------------

"Crap…crap…crap…crap…"

Yun dragged his feet dejectedly through each slothful step he took. Of course he hadn't forgotten about the idea at all since he presented it back in the Calm Lands, but so far, he couldn't think of even a single half-assed plan to try and get Zhara into Bevelle.

"Ugh, maybe we should just walk in and act natural," he thought to himself. "No! Can't just drag her in there just to have a thousand people glaring! Must…find…a way…"

He found a nice empty spot away from the busy people and slumped to the ground. Sitting cross-legged in contemplation, he poked around at the grainy dirt with his finger. "She has to _not_ look conspicuous…" he mumbled to himself. "Something…normal…normal…" Lost in his thoughts, he continued to sit quietly by, absentmindedly unaware of the approaching shadow of some stranger gradually looming over him.

"Why, hello there, _Lad_. You seem a tad…_troubled_?"

Yun looked up at the lanky man who greeted him. He carried what appeared to be a rather large and cumbersome knapsack—a common belonging owned by pretty much every merchant.

"I couldn't help but notice your _lady _friend over yonder," he said, hinting over in the direction Zhara was at.

"_Lady_ friend? Uhh…we're not—"

"Oh come now, no need to be shy around me! And I do rightly believe a nice girl like that deserves a little gift here and there, don't you think?"

"Umm, look we're not—"

"All right, all right! Say what you want. Either way, how can I be of service to 'ya?"

"Service…? I never…" Yun thought.

"I've got all sorts of gifts for a _lady _friend! Jewelry and clothes from every corner of Spira! You name it, I've got it. And if you'd like some refreshing accessories for yourself as well, I've also got things for that, all for my special discounted prices! _Anything_ for a romantic youth, hehe!" he rambled on, ending with a suggestive wink.

"Romantic! Hey, look you jacka—" he paused, coming on a sudden idea. After processing everything thoroughly, a plan was finally formulated in his head. Yun gave a quick, crafty smile, convinced that this idea would definitely work. "Hey umm…you _do_ have just about everything, right?"

The merchant became wary of his sudden change of attitude and eyed him suspiciously. "Well, depends on what you're looking for…"

----------------------------------------------------

"Is that all, Miss?"

"Yes, thank you," Zhara replied delightfully to the merchant. After she handed the exact amount of gil to the woman for the purchase, she bundled the item up and tied it for her customer. "Hah, this is perfect!" she thought to herself while she tucked it away under her arm. "All right, now to find Yun…"

Leaving the merchant's stand was just as much a hassle as getting there. With everyone bunched up everywhere, Zhara had to squeeze her way carefully through them. She scanned around, standing on her tiptoes to peek over shoulders for any signs of her brunette friend. When she finally spotted what looked like Yun with a rather…freakish grin on his face while holding some new item he bought himself in a bag, she made her way through over to where stood.

"Hey! Look what I got!" she exclaimed, opening up the bundle she just purchased. The compact object unfolded into an enormous-sized piece of paper, and Zhara shoved it in Yun's face. "A MAP!" she said from behind. "And it's a really good one too. So, no more of these _detours _of yours…okay?"

Hearing a low, almost scary chuckle from the other side of the giant map wasn't quite the reaction she had expected. In fact, the reason why she even bought it at all, other than to avoid getting lost again, was to tease his (lack of) navigational skills.

Yun grabbed the piece of paper and pulled it out of his face. "I've finally thought of the perfect idea!"

Although that was great news, Zhara was a little intimidated by his strange demeanor. Seeing him this cheery was a little weird. Was he seriously that proud of himself for thinking of whatever it was he thought of?

"It's GENIUS!" (Apparently so.)

"Okay then, what _is_ this genius plan of yours?" Zhara asked wryly, folding up the map and putting it away.

"LOOK!" he shouted and pulled out something from the bag he was holding.

The balled-up object unfurled into a full outfit, which Zhara stared appallingly at.

"See? This will definitely get you in without any attention!"

She blinked slowly, dragging her eyes up and down the ensemble hanging in front of her. "Yun?"

"Yeah?"

She thought heavily about the right words to use for the parts of his so-called plan she could piece together from what she was seeing. "This is…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cliffhanger! Er…sort of! Next chapter: Zhara's reaction! And will they finally get inside Bevelle?

Anyway…I caught a dumb typo in the last chapter. x.X It was minor, but stupid, so I just fixed the sucker anyway…damn caps… (_cough_) SO…! I dunno how to feel about this chapter…it seemed really filler-y to me, and a little more light-hearted…less drama…some of my …bad attempts at a little teensy bit of comedy… : ( Lol. Well, it was supposed to include everything I planned to write after they reached Bevelle but it got….reeeally _way_ too long, hahahahaa… (is apparently _very_ horrible at estimating chapter lengths x.x) After noticing that, I wanted to break it into two parts in separate chapters but that seemed weird and confusing, and it's been a LONG while since an update, and I didn't want to keep anyone waiting anymore! o.o CURSE YOU, PROCRASTINATION! CUUURSE YOUUUUU!

One more thing… in case anyone is just wondering, considering the pace of the story x.x …so, obviously right now, they're not on a pilgrimage, but it WILL come. My estimate is (_cough_…estimate…right) not until after several more chapters (to be more exact, not until after they get to Luca). And when will the other characters come in? It'll be sooooon! I'm pretty…eighty-ninety percent sure that they'll start to come in after the next chapter: ) Yay! (Finally, eh?)

RAAAGHHH! School's starting… (_gives summer one last hug_)


	6. City Splendor

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X.

HAH! AhahahAHhahahhah….ahah…hah… I'm back : D Yeeah, I have a long excuse and a bunch of apologies and stuff but I'll stick that in at the end of the chapter, hehe. Sorry, though, but I kept my promise that I wouldn't quit on this fic. I've also already thought out a lot of the plot already so I would be pretty disappointed with myself if I ever decided to abandon it. Soooo, moving things along…on with the story!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A Forgotten Calm**

Chapter 5 – City Splendor

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is…"

Zhara found it somewhat difficult to say honestly, seeing Yun's anticipation for her opinion on his "plan".

"What do you think?"

"This is…the most IDIOTIC thing you've thought of thus far!!!"

"No, no, listen! It's perfect! All you have to do is wear this and no one will suspect a thing!"

"…You want me to dress up as a _NUN_? A TEMPLE _NUN_?"

"It's the perfect disguise!" he continued to rave on, though her skeptic look clearly showed how unfazed she was by his stupidity. "Come on. Try it on!" he said, shoving the outfit into her arms.

"What?! No!"

"Oh, come on! Look, temple clergymen come and go all the time throughout Spira. People like them never get a second glance from others. They're the last people any Yevonite would ever suspect of anything. Trust me! This will definitely work."

Yet…she still looked unmoved.

"Now, go! Go put it on!"

For some reason, she wouldn't budge an inch from where she stood, still glaring daggers…well, more like _spears_ at the poor guy.

"What's…the matter…?" he asked.

"You mind?" she retorted.

"About…what—OH!" Yun's face glowed red when he realized what the girl meant and immediately averted his eyes. "My bad. Yeah umm, well actually," he began while Zhara slipped into the shrubs nearby, "it's pretty loose clothing, so you could probably just wear them over your regular clothes," he said, though with his entire front still faced away from the bushes. "So…you…don't…have…to…" he spoke, cautiously glancing over his shoulder.

"I don't care!" she barked back, so he quickly shot his eyes forward again. "I feel nice and comfortable in the darn bushes, _thank you_."

She grumbled and muttered ambiguously while trying to slip into the robes. "This is crazy. I can't believe I'm going along with this. You're an idiot, you know that?! Where the hell did you even get nuns' clothing from anyway??" she ranted on through the rustling bushes.

"Uh, well the guy called himself umm, O'…aka…some…number or other..." he replied, mumbling the last part since he couldn't quite remember what the merchant's name was.

"Who?"

"O'aka XV, yeah! I don't know. He was some weird guy who talked with some weird accent. Hey, are you done yet?"

"Wait!" she cried. "All right…there, okay. You can look now."

Yun turned around to see the Al Bhed girl swimming in the billowy robes, a typical outfit for a nun of that time to wear. It was a set of layered, ankle-length robes in mostly pale colors with parts of the tunic that hung over the robes decorated with common symbols of Yevon.

"You know, really, why did you have to do the whole bushes thing? You _are _wearing it over everything, right? I don't get why—"

"Oh, be quiet! You have no sense of decency!"

Normally, Yun would've argued against that kind of remark (of_ course_ he was a decent guy), but he was too eager to get home to bother at the moment.

She gave another long sigh. "Are you _sure_ about this?" she asked, still doubtful of the whole thing.

"You look fine, stop worrying. But, I'd take this off for now," he suggested and pulled off the goggles from beneath her bangs.

"Oh, what about my eyes? What if, what if someone looks at me and notices them? What if—"

"Okay, okay. STOP for a minute, will you? Observe," he said, and pulled the cloth hanging around her neck over her head. "There's a hood, dummy."

Such a revelation it was… She pouted, giving him a mean look and began to fiddle around with the heavy cloth for a while until she was satisfied with its placement.

"Anything _else_?"

"Hmm…" she searched mentally for any other potential flaws in the plan, but before anything even had a chance of coming to mind, Yun already made the decision for her.

"Okay, let's go!" he shouted and dragged her by the arm off for the Highbridge leading to Bevelle's gates.

"H-Hey! Ow, you're hurting my arm!"

They were literally right outside of the enormous city, so it wasn't much of a walk to get to the Highbridge. The sight really was something to gaze at. Before long, the magnificent bridge came into view in all its glory. This entire city was, no doubt, the very pride of Spira in the eyes of the Yevonites. A glorious city it was—even blessed maybe, for in spite of Sin's centuries of carnage and destruction, this city still stood in the wake of its merciless aggression. People were truly grateful for their haven, and it is because Bevelle still had not been touched for so long, it remained open to all. Though, of course, at the present time, there are ongoing conflicts between the many peoples of Spira, and the sanctity of this city was now threatened…not by Sin, but by the very inhabitants themselves.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Man, why is it so crowded?" Yun muttered as he squeezed his way through the dense horde.

"Didn't you hear, kid? The Maester wanted to make some sort of announcement later today. Everyone within a day's traveling distance from the city came," a stranger replied.

"Really…I wonder what the Maester wants to say," he said to himself.

"Yun? Why're you stopping?" Zhara asked as she emerged from the crowds to catch up.

"Oh, it's nothing. There's some event going on, that's all. Come on," he said and grabbed her hand, "I have an idea that might get us through faster."

"What're you going to do?"

"MOVE IT!! I've got a summoner here!! Summoner passing through!!!" he began to shout.

"WHAT?! No! No!! SHHH!! Shut up, what are you crazy?!" she whispered to him loudly.

"You want to get in Bevelle _today_ or not? This'll work, trust me," he said. "Excuse me, people! I have to get this summoner through! Make way!!!" Almost immediately, people reacted and parted a pathway for the two, to their surprise. "Wow, I might just use that one more often then, haha," Yun thought, while unknown to him, Zhara was terrified to the depths of her soul at the consequences of a scheme as reckless as this. She tugged her hood over, trying desperately to hide her face from the crowds.

When they reached the front of the gate, one of the guards stopped them before they could pass.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked adamantly.

"I have to get this summoner through," Yun replied in a completely different demeanor; he sounded much sterner than usual.

The guard tilted his head to one side take a better peek at the hooded girl's face. Zhara nervously glanced up at him for a fraction of a second. It was difficult for her to try to appear as a summoner should—proud, polished, and gallant. Instead, the guard saw a meek little girl not even past her teen years who couldn't even maintain eye contact with him.

He gave a skeptic look. "Where're you guys from?"

"Uh, we're fro—"

"Luca. I'm a summoner from the city of Luca."

Yun gave a slightly surprised look.

"I would appreciate it if you would let us through, but if you doubt our credibility, we can take our presence elsewhere where we are needed," Zhara spoke with a tone that astonished even Yun.

It was strange to see such a change in her. She looked like she'd bolt at the sight of the guard's sword, but she spoke with such dignity that it was almost haunting. Satisfied with her answer, the guard humbly let them pass. The tall man gave a nod to the gatekeepers behind him, and they moved aside to allow the two travelers entrance into the city.

They walked through the gate casually and came to a closed area within tall, barricading walls, looking as if they all stood in the middle of a giant labyrinth. The city was just beyond this short path.

While sauntering along, Yun couldn't help but inquire her about what just happened. "Where'd that come from all of a sudden?"

When she didn't answer right away, Yun looked at her quizzically, but she still wore her hood low over her face. He decided not to say anything else. They continued on in silence for a while, until Yun heard her making peculiar noises. She jerked a few times just slightly as though she was sobbing or something.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yun asked, concerned by whatever this sudden distress was.

Out of nowhere, the girl burst out laughing like a maniac. She turned around and pulled her hood off, stumbling backwards as she pointed at him and laughed. He gawked at her, dumbfounded.

"I can-NOT believe that worked, HAH!!" she cried. "Oh, that was great. Heh, you were right. I guess not _all_ of your ideas are so dumb…"

"…" Yun blinked, utterly baffled.

"What? Oh, come on, you're not the only one who gets to have fun doing this."

"O…kay, let's just keep going," he said. "_Mood swings…_" he muttered to himself as he walked up to her.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Let's go; the city's just around the corner. The path leads up to the _real_ entrance. From there we have to walk down a bunch of stairs to get to the city grounds," he said, pointing to the turn at the end of the path and continued on.

Zhara followed beside him. She gave a genuine smile and looked onward. "You want to know where that really came from?" she asked.

He glanced over at her attentively.

"My uncle said the same exact thing when we arrived at those gates before." Zhara wore an expression of so much pride as she spoke. She was staring off into the distance pensively before she turned to Yun. She gave an earnest smile and laughed before pulling the hood over her head again. "Almost there, right?"

Yun gave a sincere smile himself as he looked ahead—one that Zhara caught a quick sight of unknown to him, and she was glad.

"Thanks."

After turning the corner, there it was in plain view, the glorious city of Bevelle. Mystified by the remarkable sight, Zhara ran to the end of the path where the flights of stairs began, descending into town. "These steps are kind of like the ones at Luca's northern entrance," she thought as she looked around.

They stood atop an area with the perfect view of the landscape. At that altitude, you could see and hear _all _the sights and sounds of the cityscape.Already, noises of the populace echoed faintly into the ears. Chimes of the temple bells rang loudly all over while the ship foghorns trumpeted boisterously over by the harbors. The many spires and towers of the ocean of buildings that made this metropolis speared from the ground, and there in the far off distance was the majestic Palace of St. Bevelle. If a fool didn't know any better, he would have mistaken this place for the sacred machina city itself.

"No problem," Yun's voice called from behind.

Zhara turned to him, who was taking his time as he ambled his way over. He'd seen the city like this plenty of times before, so naturally, he wasn't filled with the same excitement that had overcome Zhara, but this time, the view was just _slightly_ different. He stopped for a moment to take a good, long look at this spectacle. The wind picked up, and standing before the city was Zhara in her long robes. The breeze made the lengthy fabric billow calmly, also blowing with it the cumbersome hood away from her face. He could see it clearly now, beaming with endearing delight. The very place and time the girl stood in would have been a flawless setting fit for a grand lady summoner.

What a sight it was.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yay, I'm done! So what did you think of this chapter? I put it together pretty quickly, so I don't think it's as good as it _could_ have been, but I'm satisfied with it. I don't like a lot of the dialogue for this one though…kinda…too…like there's nothing great about it… : ( I wanna work on that. Haate…writing…dialogue…but anyway, what I was actually really satisfied with were a few of the longer paragraphs where I tried to describe the scenes, but I think that's it xD. After having to write on so much imagery and crap in school, I think that's just about the only thing I can do halfway decent…haha.

I know this one is a little shorter than the previous chapters, and yeah, it is a bit filler-ish like the last one, but I did intend for it to include everything that happens while they're in Bevelle, except I realized that this was already making it too long about 4 pages through…hehe. Sorry…I'm sure everyone was expecting more than this. But I promise the next chapter will move the story along a lot more. Also, I made the latest two chapters a bit choppy because I was concerned about making them too long. If no one minds, I'll just go ahead and make super long ones if everyone would just rather read everything in huge chunks. : D Really, it's up to you guys. (If no one will say anything, then I'll just go ahead and do it 'cause that's what my friend is suggesting I do…) Oh, and yes! Ahah, I did put in O'aka, lol. It's just a silly little trivia tidbit thing. FFX O'aka is the 23rd, so I was like "HMMM…that's a lot of O'akas…let's stick one of 'em in the story! -calculates years and generations- 15!" He most likely won't ever have any greater of a role though.

So, I'll say it again…I'm really sorry if I'm a bit slow on updates. I'll try my best to not put it off, but if something doesn't come up for a while, just know that I haven't quit on it. If I ever decide to (and I won't because my friend will murder my lazy ass if I do), then I'll say so. But yeah, hopefully, the next chap within the next two weeks!

**why I was so late with this chapter:**

All right, now if anyone is curious as to why I took so damn long to update…I was really busy with marching band. I'm in our school's colorguard and it just simply took up all the free time I had. And whenever I DID have spare time, it was used up to either study or do calculus homework. I despise calculus to the depths of hell…I HATE IT. : ( I would never have signed up for it if I knew it was gonna be this harrrrd!! -sniff- Oh well…gotta work hard for that D! Gotta work hard for that D! Lol, yay for failing at life! So yeah, that's pretty much it. Marching band's over…I'm kinda glad. Now I have free afternoons and can update on a regular basis again. : )


	7. The Rebels Strike

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X.

Hooo…snaps. I think it's been a good long eight or so months since I've last updated. : ( Yeah…I'm…pretty bad. T.T But hey, I said I wouldn't ditch the story, and I haven't! I'm totally going to keep going…definitely, absolutely...yeah. (Psst, I seriously don't mind if anyone out there wants to go ahead and light a fire underneath my bum if it starts getting a little too long since a previous update!) Really, if anyone feels like it, you can email me and like…kick me. It'll probably help a little bit…eheheh…

_Cough… _So, this should be the longest chapter yet. I dunno how good or bad it is…but I hope at least the length kinda-sorta-not-really makes up for such a long wait. I think I'm going to pay less attention to chapter lengths a bit from now on. It doesn't seem like anyone really minds it being too long…I think. Either way, I absolutely welcome any comments on that in reviews. : )

(Really, though, sorry everyone. I feel really bad for taking so long to get this chapter up. I've really got no excuse… x.X)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A Forgotten Calm**

Chapter 6 – The Rebels Strike

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hmmm…"

Zhara pulled her feet down the alleyway between two tall buildings, sighing halfheartedly.

Once again, she was left alone by herself while her supposed 'escort' was off to who-knew-where on his own business. Without a single guide, she really couldn't do much or go anywhere since she didn't have a slightest clue where each corner and street led to. Feeling clueless for the last good half-hour or so, she had been mindlessly wandering around, staying only attentive enough to know when to turn and mosey back the way she came.

_**About half an hour ago…**_

_"Hey, I have to swing by my home for a bit to get something. You don't mind hanging around for a while without me, do you?" Yun asked._

_"What?" Zhara looked at him, wide-eyed. "You're ditching me?"_

_"Well, I wouldn't say 'ditch'. It'll be fine, come on! The city isn't all too different from Luca. Just...don't talk to any strangers, watch for pick-pockets, and when something happens, act like you're learning impaired or something and people will leave you alone," he advised._

_"Who ever heard of a learning impaired nun?" she cleverly retorted, crossing her arms. "…I do see its resemblance to Luca, though…landscape and street names aside…" she continued in blatant sarcasm. Turning away, she flailed her arms in the air. "What if I get lost—HEY!"_

_Just when Zhara glanced over her shoulder, Yun had already started dashing off. "Don't wander too far then! Hey, just give me like an hour or something. We can meet back here at this square. It's an easy place to find anyway, so you shouldn't get lost!" he called out as he ran off._

_**Now…**_

"Ugh, you're such a bad guide," she kept on grumbling and stomped down to the end of the alley.

The moment she stepped out into the street, a group of armed monks dashed by, and caught by surprise, she nearly stumbled back into the alley. Her eyes followed curiously as they continued their frantic march down the street.

"Huh, I wonder what's going on," she thought to herself. Shrugging, she fixed up her hood, making sure she was covered enough and continued on. Not even half a step later she was already rammed into by some person who had just turned the corner nearby. Both she and the young woman tumbled over.

"Hey! Watch where you're—I, I mean, are you all right?" Zhara cautiously said, remembering that she was supposed to be an upstanding member of the clergy (laughable, yes?). The other woman got up, brushed herself off, and gave the girl an unusually stern eye.

Without looking directly at her, Zhara took the time to observe the woman. "Layered robes…long cloaks…oh crap! She works at a temple!" she cursed to herself.

"I'm fine! What I would like to know is…what in the world are YOU doing dawdling out here?" the acolyte scolded, pointing an accusing finger at her.

Zhara furrowed her brows beneath the hood at the woman's remark. She sounded fairly annoyed, and of course, she had absolutely no idea why since the woman obviously mistook her for someone else. "Great! Dumbass—out of all people to run into!" she shouted mentally, forcing out a smile. "Ahah... Dawdling? I—um," she stammered, trying to quickly think of something to say. Nervously biting her lower lip, she blurted out whatever came to mind, "I'm just, uh…th-those monks who just came by—"

"Oh, you thick-headed—nevermind that! You should be back at the temple with the rest of us! Don't bother the monks; you'll just get in their way!" the acolyte sighed. She grabbed Zhara's arm and dragged the girl off with her. "Let's go."

"Whoa! W-Wait, listen! I wasn't—" Zhara tried to think of any plausible excuse of some sort to get rid of the woman.

"That's enough! You new acolytes are all the same—always so lazy and incompetent! Unacceptable under my care! As your senior, I'll make sure to knock all the laziness out of you girls!"

"Ugh, I'm not a freaking acolyte, you crazy bat!" she wanted to shout. "'_No one_ will notice a thing', yeah, _sure_ didn't…thanks a damn lot."

-----------------------------------------------------

Walking casually through the back gate, Yun headed into his apartment building's yard.

"Well, hello there, Yun!" one of the residents greeted him as she tended her garden. "What brings you back so soon?"

"Just a pit-stop. Is Mom home?" he asked.

"Your mother just returned a few minutes ago after running a few errands."

He nodded a 'thanks' to the old woman and ran up the nearest flight of stairs. Walking past three doors, he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a key. Unlocking the next door, he popped his head inside.

"Mom?" he called. "Ooh, she's cooking," he said happily to himself, smelling the aroma filling the apartment.

"My, Yun, is that you?" she replied loudly from the next room.

He entered the room and turned to close the front door behind him, only to be caught in his mother's deadly bear-hug shortly after.

"Augh… O-Okay, Mom…let go, let go!" he breathlessly pleaded.

"Ohh, how's my boy doing?" she cheerfully asked. "Have you been eating well? You look thinner than the last time I've seen you! Come into the kitchen!" she went on, leaving no opportunity whatsoever for him to reply. The stout woman yanked her son's arm and pulled him into the room she came from. "Sit!"

Yun pulled out a chair from the small, round table and took a seat. "I'm just fine, Mom. I swear, you worry way too much."

"Hah, that's what all you boys say," she replied. She removed the hot pot of steaming soup from the small, lit flame and set it aside. "You came back just in time for lunch."

Waiting while his mother finished up over in the kitchen, he took a look around the place. It hadn't changed much—neat and tidy like his mother always kept it. The apartment wasn't anything special either—small and quaint. There was the guest room, which had a simple table and a couch. There was a door that led out to a nice, breezy balcony, and the sight out there was spectacular; the view was pretty far, and they were close enough to see the spires of the Palace of St. Bevelle poking up from the ocean of buildings and rooftops. The next room over was the kitchen/dining room, and down the single hall of the apartment were the two bedrooms, one of which, of course, belonged to him. Yun always enjoyed being at home. Back in Bevelle, there weren't any fiends to exterminate or Sinspawn to battle; it was peaceful and relaxing. Maybe it was spending so much time away that made being at home that much more enjoyable, but either way, whenever the opportunity came by, he would stop by the city to see his mother and the neighbors.

When she was done, his mother put out the fire heating the pot. "So, what are you doing here so early? You said you wouldn't be back for at least a few more months in your last letter." Filling up two bowls of soup, she walked to the table and sat next to Yun.

Grinning at the floating vegetables and meat in the soup, he pulled a bowl over and stirred his spoon around, blowing in it. "Well, I'm here 'cause—" he began, stopping himself to shove a spoonful into his mouth.

His mother rolled her eyes and pulled the bowl across the table away from him.

"Hey!"

"Talk, then eat," she scolded somewhat teasingly. "You boys and your annoying eating habits…"

Yun gave a drawn-out whine, "But I'm hungry!"

She gave him her stern mother's look to shut him up. "You know I can always just give you your lunch to go…" she taunted.

"All right, okay! I can't stay too long, though. Right now I'm escorting someone to Luca. We just stopped here along the way."

"Escorting? Who?" she asked while slowly stirring her own bowl of soup.

"Just…someone. A client," he gave a dodgy reply.

"Just a client…" she repeated almost suspiciously. "So why did this 'client' of yours feel it was so important to stop by here if they needed to get all the way back to Luca?"

"Umm…"

"And where is this 'client' of yours, anyway? What kind of an escort are you, not even having the decency to invite the person over to have some of your mom's delicious homemade soup! You left them stranded on their own out in the city streets? Who knows what sort of crazy stranger, or pick-pocket, or Yevon-knows-what your client could bump into! I can't imagine how much they're actually paying you for such a lousy job!"

"Well she's not exactly paying m—"

"_She_?"

Yun froze in the middle of his words, jaw hanging, and mentally kicked himself. The look the woman was giving him right then and there was the exact reason why he _couldn't_ bring Zhara by. Yes, it was the infamous and fearful look saying, "So you've finally gotten yourself a girl, huh? It's about damn time!"

"So she's a girl? How old is she?"

"Great, great, now the questions…" Yun sighed.

"Yun?"

"Does it matter, Mom? She's…just my escor-- …tee…yeah. Why do you always assume that any girl I ever mention just HAPPENS to MAYBE be my girlfriend or something? What if this…'girl', yeah that's right, you just assumed she was a 'girl'. What if the person I was escorting was some…" he stumbled through his clumsy sort of half-assed rant, trying to think of smart things to say. Unable to come up with a legitimate example to finish his intended remark, the image of Zhara in her clergy get-up popped up. "What if it was some old nun?" he quickly blurted out.

His mother finished sipping a spoonful, looking at him casually. "Well, I _did_ ask for a reason…" she replied nonchalantly.

"Mom!"

"All right, all right," she laughed. "At least tell me her name. Maybe I'll bump into her someday on the street. At least then I can apologize to the poor thing about the lousy job you've done," she kept teasing. She dipped her spoon into the bowl for another scoop. Her son's frustrated groan, tinged with embarrassment, made her hold back another roll of laughter, nearly choking her while she swallowed.

Sighing, he rolled his eyes. "The girl's name is Zhara."

"Oh," she nodded simply, smiling. She obviously had her wild assumptions but decided generously not to bother her son anymore. "So I take it the 'girl' isn't an old nun, is she?" (Well, maybe perhaps just a _little_ bit more…)

Feeling awkward and embarrassed enough, he didn't even bother to reply or protest this time.

"Okay, I'll stop now. Eat your darn soup," she laughed, seeing her son's loss of words, and returned the bowl.

"Well actually, now that you've _kindly _reminded me, I can't stay long. After I grab a few things, I'm off again. So, uhh, could you…maybe…pack up the soup for me to take with?" he asked, grinning widely.

"Oh, you'll be leaving? All right, Momma'll pack you a munchie-bag, then." His mother stood up from her seat and took his bowl into the kitchen with her.

Yun left the table as well to go to his room. 'Munchie-bag'…that stupid word made the guy cringe. No matter how old he grew, his mom would still use dumb words like that; he absolutely didn't get why.

On his way through the short hall, he heard his mother calling to him, "Oh, before I forget, did you hear about the announcement the Grand Maester wanted to make today?"

"Announcement…?" he thought to himself. Remembering that he did hear briefly about it from the people crowding outside the city gates, he replied, "Oh, yeah, is it anything important?"

"I'm thinking it's probably just recent news of some sort, but I won't be able to make it."

Still listening to her, he rummaged through the piles of crap and mess in his pigsty of a room for some clean clothes to change into, and not surprisingly, it was a rather difficult task. For once, Yun almost wished that he hadn't asked for his mom to keep out of his room while he was gone, since now he realized he seemed to lose more stuff being untidy than he did when his mother finished cleaning through his room (80 percent of his stuff was useless junk, after all). After finally finding at least a shirt and sniffing it to make sure it was safe to wear, he took off his faceguard and tossed it to the corner of the room.

"Yun?"

"Yeah, I heard," he called back, muffled by the shirt caught over his head as he tried to pull it on.

"Well I asked some neighbors who were going to attend to tell me how it goes. Are you going?"

"Pants…pants…" he mumbled to himself, scanning around the room. "U-Um, I don't know, maybe," he replied.

It took a while, but he finally finished changing. After the seemingly impossible feat was accomplished, he gave himself a little reminder to clean up the next time he came home. It felt much more comfortable to be out of his uniform; all the extra weight from the armor he wore, despite it being primarily lightweight equipment, got a bit stuffy and cumbersome at times, so the change was refreshing. Before exiting his room, he stopped himself, remembering to pick up the one thing he came to get. He spotted the item sitting in the corner by his bed and grabbed it along with him on the way out.

"All done, come get your—oh, took you long enough," his mother said, noticing him coming back from the next room, still buttoning up things here and there. "You clean up that dirty hole of yours next time you're back, boy. I smell it each time on the way to _my_ room. A single window can only air it out so much, you know."

"Yeah, sorry, I know, I know," he said, smiling apologetically.

"Here you are, grub for two." She presented him a neatly packed lunch set.

"Oh, no thanks, Mom. I don't need _that_ much food…"

"Since when did you get to be such a pig? It's not all for _you_. The rest of it is for Zhara. You remember, right, your _'escort-ee'_?. Hell, you ought to give up your share and let _her_ have it to make up for your—"

"OKAY, MOM."

She smiled warmly. "I'm joking, kiddo. Here."

Taking the lunch pack, he returned the smile. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime. Just come back soon and well, okay?" she said, pinching her son's cheek a bit, which made him wince.

"Don't worry."

"May Yevon bless you with a safe journey…now go on, get out of here," she laughed.

-----------------------------------------------------

Scared and practically paralyzed all over, she felt an endless abyss growing at the pit of her stomach. Zhara tip-toed meekly up the steps of the temple.

"Stop wasting time and get back to work!" the older acolyte scolded again before disappearing into the temple.

The moment would have been perfect for her to make a run for it if it hadn't been for the many other people standing around. There were temple clergymen scattered everywhere, some looking very frantic and worried. Monks also appeared to be on guard all over the vicinity, and even several onlookers hovered about.

"What is going on?" she thought curiously to herself. Seeing no other way out, she decided reluctantly to enter the temple.

Upon setting foot across the threshold, she immediately found that the temple's exterior had done it no justice—what was underneath the roof was simply magnificent! Although she had been to several other temples before, this had to be one of the most beautiful, though after all, this _was_ Bevelle. The city probably spared no expense for the construction of its temples. The first room the front entrance led into had a domed ceiling, painted with intricate illustrations of different heroic scenes of several summoners in battle. Lining the right and left sides of the large main hall were elegant support pillars. Deeply immersed in the astonishment of the sight around her, Zhara failed to notice the woman standing in her path with her back facing her, and she absent-mindedly walked right into her. The slight, yet embarrassing impact knocked reality back into the girl.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she quickly apologized, bowing her head politely, although she did so mainly to avoid letting the woman see her face.

"I-It's quite all right…" she graciously replied as she turned around, and if Zhara hadn't been so afraid to look up, she would have seen the gentle smile she wore. No, what Zhara DID notice, slightly further down…was the fact that this woman was carrying a child in her womb.

"Oh, crap—I DID NOT…just…" she wanted to kick herself HARD in the ass for walking into a...mother-to-be. "I'm…SO…sorry, Miss," she squeaked, glancing up at her face for a split-second with the most horrified expression and just as quickly rushed into the next room. Seeing what had just happened, two men approached the woman.

"What's going on?" the younger dark-haired man asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, shaking her head.

The other man, who was an elderly clergyman, eyed Zhara's back strangely as she hurriedly (and quite awkwardly) disappeared through the doors. "I apologize for whatever trouble that girl caused you, Lady Summoner Eriza. The younger acolytes—they can be a bit troublesome sometimes."

"No, no, really, it's fine," the lovely brunette woman assured, smiling graciously.

"Anyway, what brings you out here Sir Marien?" he asked the other man.

The younger man didn't reply. His outward appearance looked rather different from most people, or the common ones at least. He dressed in finer clothing, or rather, in more elegant or regal wear, and wore a constant stern expression on his face. "Explain the situation," he spoke in a calm, but firm demeanor.

"Of course, Sir. It seems there was an attempted theft on the fayth that we house here in this temple. The perpetrators were stopped by our monks, but I believe we've failed to apprehend them. It's very likely that they were Anti-Yevon rebels, Sir."

"Stealing the fayth in broad daylight?" the summoner asked, sounding astonished. "It seems much more logical for them to attack during the night…"

"Arrogance. They only did so to further insult the temple; they obviously failed," the other man spoke. With those brief words, he approached the doors leading into the next room.

"Marien?" the woman called.

He stopped for a moment and looked back at his wife. Handsome as he was, rarely did so much as a smile grace itself upon his features, which all knew well; however, for his beautiful wife, he gave a faint, reassuring one. "I'll only be for a moment, Eriza," he kindly replied. "Why don't you go ahead and return to the palace? My father should be ready to speak soon. Please apologize for me if I run late."

She hesitated, then nodded understandingly. "All right."

The elderly priest bowed in prayer to the summoner and politely bid her farewell before she walked out the exit with several attendants. "Sir Marien, please do what you must to aid our investigation. I can't show enough gratitude for your services. On behalf of our temple, I thank you, the Lady Summoner, and your father. And praise be to Yevon for the safety of our fayth." As the priest bowed in prayer once again, the man did the same and left for the next room to begin his survey of the temple.

Still aimlessly wandering down a wide hall, Zhara began to grow a bit anxious again. She knew she was caught in the middle of some ordeal that she hoped well and hard she wouldn't get involved in. For the moment, however, things seemed to at least simmer down a bit, which gave her just an ounce of relief.

"I wonder where the chamber of the fayth is…" she asked herself while sauntering along. She would have really liked to visit it, if only she were permitted to. "Come to think of it, what sort of aeon does that fayth offer? Uncle Nikolas never did receive any aeons from Bevelle. Oh, and that's right…Bevelle houses two aeons. I wonder what the other one is."

While her thoughts wandered along with her footsteps, she failed to overhear voices speaking from the room down the next corner. It wasn't until she inadvertently passed by the corridor that she realized what she was walking in on. Barely seeing the figures of two people in the corner of her eye, she quickly ran back against the wall, out of view. "Probably a good time to head back now," she mentally noted, until something peculiar caught her ear, refusing to let her legs advance.

With her interest heightened, she slowly peeked past the wall to take a look at the two conversing people. Their voices were too low—clearly at a whisper, so what they were talking about was almost completely inaudible; however, the fact that these two were whispering so secretively alone was suspicious enough.

"What are those two up to…?" she wondered.

There was a man and a girl, and whoever they were, they dressed very obscurely. Judging by how much she could see and hear, she guessed them both to be a couple of youths. The guy had his back turned to her, so she couldn't get a clear view of his face. He was also wearing a hood, so she decided to look past him at the shorter, younger woman he was speaking to. Although they dressed in their own respective outfits, the patterns and design of each person's clothing resembled the other closely, like uniforms of some sort, and although they certainly didn't appear to be members of the clergy, they looked like rather important figures, despite how young they seemed to be. The woman's coat also bore a hood, but it wasn't worn. It hung by her shoulders, revealing her very short-cut, bright, highlighter-blond hair. She also had a pair of sunglasses on, which was perched loosely in front of her eyes.

"What are they…" Zhara tried listening on closer. "I can't…" After some moments, their behavior seemed to change. She could tell they were a bit bothered, and judging from the inflections in their voices, it seemed as though they were almost arguing. With their voices beginning to rise bit by bit, that peculiar _something _about them just hit her. "They're speaking…in Al Bhed?" She still couldn't tell what they were saying, but she was sure as hell that these people were absolutely speaking in her native tongue.

The young woman's facial expression looked aggravated from what Zhara could tell, and the man's voice grew somber. After a few more exchanges, he handed some sort of letter to her. She nodded and walked away from him down the hall straight to the corridor where Zhara was hiding.

"Crap!" she panicked. Desperately looking about, she saw the nearest door across the hallway and ran through it before the girl saw her. Crouching behind the door, she listened for the footsteps passing by. When she heard them beginning to fade away, she reached for the doorknob and turned it, walking through casually. Reacting to the sound of the opening door, the woman unexpectedly shot a glance at Zhara over her shoulder from further down the hall. She'd mistakenly opened the door too early it seemed.

Although she was trying to be as discreet as she could, her eyes unintentionally met the young woman's, and for that chilling split-second, they froze in a deadlock. Zhara couldn't look away, staring back into a pair of eyes like her own. Time felt like it slowed down for those few seconds for her, but all the young woman simply did was push the sunglasses back up against her eyes and impassively look away. That woman knew what she saw, that much, Zhara could tell.

Standing on the spot, her eyes followed her down the hall until she turned a corner, completely out of sight. She finally blinked normally again now that her presence was gone. Waiting for her heartbeat to return to normal and for her adrenaline to calm down, her thoughts began to catch up with her. That woman's dispassionate reaction was perplexing. Zhara didn't know if she must have thought her to be some kind of accomplice or whatever, but she did come to another confounding realization—that young woman…no, that _girl_, that _teen_ was surely no older than she was. The apparent conspiracy left her evermore baffled.

Further footsteps echoed through the halls, so she quickly ran back through the door behind her, leaving it open to a sliver as she watched the man from before walk by. She followed him cautiously, keeping a careful distance behind him back to the main hall from before. Entering inconspicuously, Zhara casually made her way to the corner of the room by a support pillar. She watched as the hooded man approached another person, who appeared to be waiting for him. The hooded man stopped beside the other dark-haired man, leaning over to whisper something into his ear. He nodded in response shortly afterwards and headed for the exit.

The hooded man followed him, but paused in the middle of the wide doorway and turned to the people in the room. "Sir Marien shall be returning to the palace now. Please continue the investigation. Should there be any new findings, please do inform any officials or messengers. Protecting the fayth is of utmost importance, and we thank you all for your efforts," he spoke, in very clear and fluent Yevonite tongue, which surprised Zhara at first until she thought about it, realizing that she herself was also capably bilingual.

Finally managing to find her way out on the streets again, she made her way back to the city square where she was supposed to meet up with Yun again at. She walked with unintentional haste as all the questions that sprung from that single, strange experience raced through her head.

"Just what exactly is going on? Those people…they're not just merchants or traders…and the temple was really unsettled. Were they…rebels?"

-----------------------------------------------------

"Hmm… Where is she?" Yun mumbled, looking through the mildly packed crowd. He made his way closer to the city square from earlier, seeing the top of the familiar statue that stood at its center. "Hey, Zhara!" he shouted.

It took a while, but he did eventually spot her. The girl was sitting right on one of the benches surrounding the statue. It was a magnificent sculpture of the first High Summoner after Lady Yunalesca, Lord Gandof. In Bevelle, it was a pretty common thing to see artworks and various monuments of important Yevonite figures. As the epicenter of the world's most dominant religion, most all of the city's aesthetics were based heavily on Yevon's teachings. Zhara sat alone on the wooden bench, elbows on her lap and face resting on her palms.

"You look bored."

She glanced up, only to see his beaming face. Obviously, he had far more pleasant time than she just had. Her head was still in the clouds for the moment, so she didn't notice right away his wardrobe change, which was aggravatingly far more pleasing to the eye than the crap she ended up having to slap on. Actually, he didn't look all too bad looking all casual like that…almost…dashing…and without his faceguard on…well, now if it hadn't been for her eagerness to simply get out of that place and be able to tear the ridiculous robes off, she probably would've dwelled a little more on that. Zhara stood up with her arms crossed. She didn't look pleased in the least, to Yun's confusion and mild dismay.

"Have a good time stopping by home?" she asked dryly.

"Uhh…" He was a bit fearful about how to respond. "I…come…bearing gifts! Well…food, but I _do _have a little something."

She pursed her lips impatiently.

Yun set the pack his mother had put together on the bench beside them. In almost an instant flash, he drew out a slim weapon so quickly that before Zhara even knew it, the dulled surface of its narrow blade hovered before her eyes.

"AGH!" she blinked and jerked away from the blade. "Watch where you swing that thing!"

"I know how to handle it just fine. It's my old rapier. Started out training with it, but after a while…I don't know, it didn't suit me, I guess. So I started using a different type of sword. Here," he said, handing her the weapon.

Giving him a look of uncertainty, she hesitantly wrapped her fingers around the hilt, which was substantially smaller than the one on Yun's sword. She could really feel the difference between this and the one he normally carried around; it was slimmer in appearance—the blade and the hilt, and of course, also looked a lot lighter (she was also quite hoping that it actually physically would be, too).

"Don't worry, it's a lot lighter than mine, if that's what you're thinking," he assured. Slowly, he let go of the hilt.

Zhara took a moment to adjust to the weapon. It indeed was far lighter than Yun's sword, but there was still some weight to it, and being unaccustomed to wielding any sort of weapon, she still did consider it to be something heavy to have to carry around all the time. Her eyes traveled from the tip of the blade down to the hilt in her hand.

"It's kind of pretty," she commented, referring to its sleek design and the more elaborate details of the cross-guard.

"Feel okay with it?"

"I think…" she replied, rotating the sword around in her hand while still observing it.

"Great," he said and took back the rapier, putting it away. "It's yours now. I'll teach you how to use it after we get out of here."

"Oh, really? I mean, I probably won't be needing it anymore after we get to Luca…"

"Nah, it's okay. I don't even touch the thing anymore, and besides, you probably will need it if you're ever considering traveling anywhere again. I'm not your personal bodyguard, now."

Zhara raised her brow at him sarcastically. "Not what I've been hearing all day…"

Yun began heading down another road, shrugging her remark off. Following along behind, Zhara noticed that he wasn't going back to the city's gates.

"Hey, wait. Yun, this isn't the way back—"

"Nope, we're not leaving just yet—heard the Grand Maester wanted to make some sort of address."

"Aw, what?!" she cried, disappointed in knowing that it meant she had to keep the damn clothes on for a while longer.

-----------------------------------------------------

"People of Spira," the voice of an elderly man echoed across the humming murmurs of the people before him.

"Is that him?" Zhara whispered to Yun as they made their way to the grounds of the Palace of St. Bevelle.

"Yeah, guess we made it in time."

After finding a decent spot as close as they could get, the two stood by among the rest of the citizens.

"This is Maester Seare speaking. I welcome you all, disciples of Yevon," the old man continued. His slow manner of speech was a fairly poor reflection on his true age, as the man wasn't quite as old as he appeared to be. "As you may or may not have recently heard, there was an attempted theft today on one of our very temples."

The massive audience began to gasp and whisper amongst themselves in horrified shock. Zhara briefly thought back on what had happened earlier, finding an overly obvious correlation between the events.

"However," the old man continued, raising his voice to regain their attention, "through the dauntless efforts of our monks and guards of the temple, those responsible were thwarted. I thank them from the bottom of my heart. May these brave souls be blessed by Yevon."

Various people in the crowds began to clap and cheer. The wave eventually picked up and everyone found themselves joining in.

After they had quieted again, the Maester continued. "It is clear that the Anti-Yevon rebels are the ones behind such an audacious and appalling act. Even the streets of our very capital are becoming gradually less safe, but there is no need to be afraid of the likes of them. We are united and strong under the teachings; we will not succumb to their senseless threats and crimes."

The audience rallied fervently in agreement.

"Although…there is yet another issue I would like to address. My people, I am but touched by your devotion to the teachings and to our ways, but there are times, when far too much pride and zeal clouds one's judgement. Do remember, my people, that Yevon also teaches us to discipline and restrain ourselves when we must. I am…upset to say that many of our citizens have wrongly accused—even assaulted individuals who have no association with the true villains."

Scattered voices of skepticism and doubt began to rise among the people.

"You all are aware of what I am speaking about. The Al Bhed people—"

As Maester Seare tried to continue, an eruption of angered hisses and protests drowned the palace grounds. As possibly the only Al Bhed standing among them, Zhara fought to endure their hurtful reactions. It was hard to have to listen to the masses like this; she found herself frowning beneath her hood. Luca was a far more liberal city than Bevelle, so this sort of response was never something she could quite get used to.

"Hey," Yun whispered.

She looked to him in a faint frown.

"You okay? You want to just leave?" he asked thoughtfully, knowing how what was happening must have been making the girl feel.

In truth, she really would have liked to go, but the still unfinished words of Maester Seare made her curious to stay. He sounded sincere and adamant against this unnecessary conflict of peoples, and she really wanted to hear this wise man speak.

Within a short moment's hesitation, Zhara found herself shouting aloud, "Hey! Shut up!" She felt herself almost quivering, trying to collect the nerve to speak up.

Yun glanced nervously around, seeing that the people seemed to have quieted suddenly, but those within sight looked very ill-tempered. It was unnerving standing in the center of their scrutinizing eyes.

Zhara stalled for a moment after realizing what she had just yelled. With the growing intimidation inside, she began losing her nerve. "M-Maester Seare is speaking…" she said, her voice breaking just a bit under the pressure.

By then, most of the audience had simmered down, much to just about everyone's surprise, and perhaps more on the Maester's end than Zhara herself, who looked up attentively at the old man standing far up on his balcony. He, too, stared down at this young girl—a speck in the crowds, with the same respect.

Raising his dark and lightly bearded chin, he continued from the interruption. "As I was saying—the Al Bhed people are no lesser as humans than we are. There will be no more brashness and foolishness among my people, especially during such times. Do remember, not all convicted rebels have been Al Bheds. It is not an entire people who threaten us, but rather simply a certain group of _any_ senseless individual. Please keep that well in mind."

After Maester Seare had seemingly ended the address, a familiar young man walked into view beside him. He leaned in and spoke to the older man's ear.

"That guy…" Zhara thought, recognizing him as the dark-haired man from the temple earlier.

Just then, the Maester appeared to have chuckled delightfully. Turning his attention back to the audience, he spoke again. "On a lighter note—it seems…my daughter-in-law's child is to be born within the month," he announced with a wide smile. "Why don't you bring her out here, Marien?" he told the man.

Soon enough, the woman Zhara had carelessly bumped into at the temple stepped out. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the woman. "Oh geez…" she whined quietly, remembering what she had done. "She was the freaking Maester's daughter-in-law…?"

Everyone stared in admiration of the lovely, young woman.

"Everyone, I…I can't say enough how grateful and honored I have been for all your prayers and support during my pilgrimage," she began, "and I cannot be thankful enough for Marien's dear cousin. Lady Summoner Cyra has progressed greatly in my place, and I give her my most sincere prayers."

"I am confidant that Lady Cyra will prevail," Maester Seare said proudly. "With that said, I then now welcome all of Spira to come and rejoice when my grandchild is born. _All_ are welcome, for birth is the greatest gift Spira has to offer all beings. Let us all celebrate it when we can, and not simply for my grandchild's sake—for all the children of this world."

The crowd began to react again, but at least this time, they sounded primarily positive.

As the Maester turned around to return to the palace, he stopped and came back. "By the way…I hear blitz season will begin within several days. Hmm…a shame I can't go to Luca this year to see the games… Well, the best of luck to all your favorite teams then. I've got my gil on the Kilika Beasts," he added in good humor, chuckling as he finally left the balcony.

-----------------------------------------------------

Now approaching the southern exit of the city, Yun and Zhara (now finally out of her ungodly robes) planned for their next route. He held their new, large map open before him as she followed close behind, holding her own new sword in her hands.

Thinking back on the events of that day, she stopped. "Hey, Yun…"

"Yeah?" he answered with his nose still in the map.

"You know…umm…"

He lowered the paper and turned to her. "What?"

"I was at the temple, right—the one Maester Seare was talking about."

"Really? Wait, what were you even doing around a temple…?"

"Well, I didn't exactly have a guide show me around when some crazy temple nun lady hauled me away there," she said in cold sarcasm. "Anyway, whatever, I saw that guy there. And that lady."

Yun took a moment to think about who she meant. "You mean…Sir Marien and Lady Eriza?"

"Yeah. Well, I don't know. I saw these two Al Bhed people there. I swear, they were talking about…_something_. I couldn't really hear them, but it looked really suspicious. One of them was Marien's attendant or something. Look, I don't know if I'm just being a little paranoid or if there really is something going on. The guy is the Grand Maester's son…if—"

"Look, I'm sure it's not some huge, crazy conspiracy you're thinking of," he interrupted. "The guy's Spira's greatest summoner's husband and guardian. Why would he have anything to do with Anti-Yevon rebels?"

Zhara sighed. "I guess you're right. It just seemed…weird, you know?"

"Well, we've got an Al Bhed girl who speaks perfectly in Yevonite, summons Aeons because she was raised by a summoner, and so she also has decent knowledge about the teachings of Yevon themselves, and should I go on?" he said, trying to prove his point.

"All right, all right. I get it. Maybe I really am just being weird and paranoid. What's our next course then?"

"Well, there's still a bit more of Macalania Woods to get through, and then we've got two different routes. We can take the incredibly long, but safer and much more scenic route straight to Moonflow, or we can take a far shorter, but fairly more dangerous route through the Thunder Plains."

"Thunder Plains."

Yun froze in a tinge of fear. "You kidding…?"

"What? You want to make it back in time for the first blitzball game of the season? We take the quicker way," she said without hesitation as she walked past him.

"Damn it…" Yun cursed as he crumpled up the map, shoving it back into his bag. The thought of the fiend-infested Thunder Plains tugged his gut painfully. How was it that this crazy girl could so willingly want to travel through there, he wondered, especially with her obvious lack of fighting experience. "You know, I can't always be saving your ass, okay?"

"So what? I got a sword to poke around with now. I'm good. You saw how I did with just rocks and an apple."

The Crusader had a look of 'are you freaking serious?' written all over his face. "We're gonna die," he sighed to himself, then jogged to catch up with Zhara. He suddenly remembered then that he had something else to give her. "Hey!"

"What?"

"By the way, here's a belt to wear the sword with," he called, taking out and throwing the leather strap to her.

Catching it with her right hand, she looked down to her waist for a moment. "Umm…"

"What, can't put it on yourself?" he teased.

"No…I can't," she said tersely, waving both the sword and belt in her full hands in his face to emphasize her point. That and the fact that she didn't exactly know how to put it all together either.

"Right…uh, here." Yun grabbed the items. He showed her as he fixed the sword to the belt, then leaned in to wrap it around her waist. Having to tighten the buckle and everything pulled him a bit closer than he was comfortable with (…the weenie). At just mere inches away from her face, he let out a nervous laugh.

"What?" Zhara giggled back, looking up at him.

"N-Nothing…" he said and clumsily yanked the belt through the buckle.

"AGH… Too tight, too tight…" she sputtered, pulling the entire thing away. "Yeah, I think I can do this part myself now…"

"Sorry," he whispered awkwardly, turning away as he felt a bit of a blush begin to creep on his cheeks. "A-Anyway, we're almost out of here. Let's hurry," he quickly said, continuing on.

Zhara gave an odd smile. "Dork…" she remarked quietly to herself. Following along, she pulled out the rapier from its sheath, grinning like a kid with matches. "All right, _Mr. Crusader_, what's the first lesson?" she asked as they passed through the gates out of Bevelle.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whoooo! Almost made it to 20 pages, heheheh. All right, first thing's first, I know it's been quite a good few months since I last updated. Again, I can't apologize enough. If anyone notices this update at all, I'm really, really sorry. Thing is, it will probably happen again for the next chapter, though I promise not nearly for as long. I've started college, but it really isn't much of an excuse cause I've actually had plenty of free time… x.x; I've just been super lazy. So yes, I can almost say for sure that it will be yet a while again until I get around to putting up the next chapter, but I will. And I'll be more than glad to give out e-mails or whatever to anyone for updates if you want. It beats the hell out of having to check every once in a while.

Now, the chapter…IT'S LONG, I know…heh. Hope it somewhat compensates for a lack of any chapter at all for so long. As far as dialogue goes, I did so much editing cause I could never get satisfied with it. Frankly, I still don't even know if I really am. I've reread it several times, but I'm not sure if it's all typo-free, so sorry for any weird mistakes anyone catches. The chapter was written over several months, so I really tried to make it flow right, even though I sorta fail x.x; Transitions aren't my best thing either… I also hope the whole Maester bit didn't completely suck ass. That was my biggest block in the entire thing. I didn't know how to go about writing it, and honestly, after realizing how damn long it's been, I frankly didn't care as much anymore; just wanted to get this stupid thing over with. I mean it was supposed to be some speech thinger, but I couldn't make it like…full-blown-presidential-speech-piece-of-crap. God no… so, I dunno… Oh, but I can definitely assure you that two more characters will (finally) come in the next chapter; the story's going to start moving along a bit more now. So… Reviews! Reviews!

Also, if you notice any weird random "inconsistencies" with the original game, some of it might be done on purpose, just for the sake of keeping it from being a carbon copy of the game. I mean, after all, this is set a good couple hundred years before that, so yeah. I'll be glad to answer any questions though. : )


End file.
